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i^tm      BV  3269  .H3  B37  1334 

Bardwell,  Horatio,  1788- 

1866. 
Memoir  of  Rev.  Gordon  Hall, 


V 


I 


MEMOIR 

OF 

REV.  GORDON  HALL,  A.M. 

ONE    OF    THE    FIRST    MISSIONARIES 


AMER.  BOARD  OF  COMM.  FOR  FOR.  MISSIONS, 


AT 

BOMBAY. 
HORATIO  BARDWELL, 

Formerly  Missionary  at  Bombay,  now  General  Agent  of  the 
A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  for  the  N.  E.  States. 


Wo  to  me,  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel  to  the  heathen." 


ANDOVER : 

PUBLISHED  BY  FLAGG,  GOULD  AND  NEWMAN. 

NEW    YORK: 
J.  LEAVITT,  182  BROADWAY. 

1834. 


Fntfirfl,i  accordin<'  to  Act  of  Congress,  by  Flagg,  Gould  and  Newman,  in  the 
'  Qer'l^s  OffiJerof  the  DUtrict^Coun  o'f  MalsachusettB,  in  the  year  of  our 


Lord,  1834. 


PREFACE. 


Soon  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Hall  in  1826,  the  Pru- 
dential Committee  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  requested 
the  compiler  to  prepare  a  memoir  for  the  press.  In  pre- 
paration for  the  work,  letters  from  his  correspondents 
were  collected,  and  the  few  private  papers  that  could  be 
obtained  were  examined.  But  the  materials  for  a  memoir 
were  found  to  be  so  few,  that  it  was  thought  not  advisa- 
ble to  proceed.  It  was  however  afterwards  suggested 
that  a  selection  might  be  made  from  his  published  com- 
munications to  the  Board  and  other  correspondents",  that 
would  not  only  be  gratifying  to  his  friends,  but  promote 
the  cause  to  which  he  so  eminently  devoted  his  life. 
This  led  the  compiler  to  an  examination  of  a  bundle  of 
private  papers,  which  Mrs.  Hall  had  then  recently  receiv- 
ed from  Bombay ;  and  finding  some  portions  of  private 
journal  and  other  papers,  which  he  thought  would  be  in- 
teresting and  useful,  he  has  pursued  the  plan,  first  propos- 
ed, of  preparing  a  Memoir. 


IV  PREFACE. 

The  establishment  of  this  mission  at  Bombay  was  an 
important  era  in  the  American  churches.  It  was  the 
commencement  of  a  system  of  foreign  missionary  labors, 
which  has  at  length  taken  deep  hold  of  the  hearts,  and  has 
enlisted  the  prayers  and  efforts  of  a  large  portion  of  the 
Christian  community.  As  is  often  the  fact  in  great  and 
important  enterprises,  this  first  effort  was  attended  with 
almost  insurmountable  obstacles.  These  obstacles  were 
not  to  be  removed  and  the  mission  firmly  established, 
but  by  much  prayer,  faith  and  persevering  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  missionaries.  These  qualities  of  character 
were  happily  united  in  Mr.  Hall,  whom  the  great  Head 
of  the  church  raised  up  to  take  an  important  part  in  the 
trials  and  embarrassments  of  this  mission. 

The  documents  which  exhibit  the  nature  of  these  em- 
barrassments, and  the  means  which  were  successfully  em- 
ployed in  their  removal,  are  happily  preserved,  and  com- 
prise no  unimportant  portion  of  this  volume.  In  their  ar- 
rangement and  explanation,  the  compiler  has  received  im- 
portant aid  from  the  Rev.  Samuel  Nott,  Jun.,  who  at  that 
time  was  the  only  colleague  of  Mr.  Hall ;  and  it  is  but 
just  to  remark,  that  through  all  these  embarrassments  and 
difficulties,  the  means  resorted  to  for  their  removal,  and 
which,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  were  successful,  were 
the  result  of  their  united  and  harmonious  consultation. 

If  there  be  any  one  class  of  the  Christian  community 


PREFACE. 


to  whose  special  atttention  this  httle  volume  may  be  par- 
ticularly recommended,  it  is  to  candidates  for  the  Chris- 
tian ministry.     Various  letters  and  appeals  are  contained 
in  the  volume,  which  it  is  hoped  will  be  seriously  and 
prayerfully  perused,  by  those  who  are  looking  forward  to 
the  sacred  office  ;  especially  at  the  present  time,  when 
Providence  is  throwing  open  the   heathen  world  to  the 
view  of  the  churches,  and  presenting  so  many  extensive 
and  promising  fields  for  missionary  labor,  which  are  now 
white  for  the  harvest.— May  the  great  Lord  of  the  har- 
vest  speedily  raise  up   a  host  of  young   men,  who,   in 
the  genuine  spirit  of  apostolic  times,  shall  say  with  Gordon 
Hall,  TVo  to  me,  i/Ipreach  not  the  gospel  to  the  heathen  ! 
Andover,  March,  1834. 


1* 


CONTENTS. 


Lines,  on  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Gordon  Hall 11 

CHAPTER  I. 

Including  the  period  preceding  his  sailing  for  India, 

Birth — Early  traits  of  character — Admission  to  college — Scho- 
larship— Letter  to  his  family — Conversion — Dr.  Fiske's  tes- 
timony of  his  piety  and  talents — Study  of  theology — Preach- 
ing at  Woodbury — at  Pittsfield — Letter  to  Rev.  J.  H. — En- 
tering Theol.  Sem.  Andover — Determination  to  go  to  India 
— Letter  to  his  parents — Letter  to  his  parents — Five  letters 
to  a  friend — Letter  to  the  father  of  his  friend — Letter  to  Rev. 
George  Burder,  Eng. — Residence  in  Philadelphia — Letter  to 
his  parents — Ordination — Sailing — Letter  to  his  parents 

Page  12—38 

CHAPTER  IL 

Including  the  period  from  his  arrival  at  Calcutta  to  his  leaving 
Cochin. 

Arrival  at  Calcutta — Order  of  government  to  depart  for  Eng- 
land— Obtained  a  general  passport — Took  passage  for  Bom- 
bay— Unfavorable  impressions  of  the  Bombay  government — 
Order  to  depart  for  England — Memorials  to  the  government 
— Notice  of  Lieut.  Wade — Elopement  dovrn  the  coast — 
Arrival  at  Cochin — Arrest  by  order  of  government     39—57 


VUl  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  III. 


Including  the  period  from  his  leaving  Cochin  to  the  estahlishment 
of  the  mission  in  Bombay. 

Displeasure  of  the  governor — third  memorial — Refusal  to  enter 
into  bonds — Fourth  memorial — Positive  order  to  England — 
Last  memorial — order  suspended — Permission  to  remain 

58—75 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Containing  various  letters  and  extracts  from  his  journal,  during 
his  embarrassments  ivith  the  government  at  Calcutta  and 
Bombay. 

Letter  to  Dr.  Porter — To  his  parents — The  same — To  Rev.  D. 
Griswold — Four  letters  to  a  young  officer — To  John  Hall, 
Esq. — To  Dr.  Porter — To  James  Richards 76—98 

CHAPTER  V. 

Private  journal,  missionary  labors  from  January  1,  1814,  to  June 
10,  1816. 

Private  journal — Letter  to   Deac. ,   of  AVoodbury — To 

Rev.  J.  Harvey — Reasons  for  but  one  rehgious  service  at 
meals — Commencement  in  instructing  the  heathen — Journal 
— Letter  to  Mr.  Grisvv^old— To  Samuel  J.  Mills— To  Mr. 
Griswold — Journal — Hindoo  account  of  eclipses       99 — 124 

CHAPTER  VL 

Letters,  Journal,  ifc.from  July  1816,  to  April  18,  1817. 

Two  letters  to  the  Society  of  Inquiry — Letter  of  Samuel  J. 
Mills — Journal — Hindoo  notion  of  the  Eternal  Spirit — His 
marriage — Journal — Letter  to  his  parents — To  Dr.  Morse — 
Excavations  on  Elephanta  and  Salsetta 125 — 155 


CONTENTS.  IX 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Letters,  Sfc.from  April  16,  1818,  to  April  30, 1821. 

Letter  to  Dr.  Porter — ToSamuelJ.  Mills— To  Dr.  Porter — 
The  same — To  Jesse  D.  Hawley,  Esq. — To  his  parents — To 
Dr.  Porter — Tour  of  eight  days — Mission  schools — Journal, 
— interview  with  Mussulmauns 156 — 174 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

An  appeal  to  Christians  in  behalf  of  the  heathen. 

Ability  and  duty  of  the  churches — Duty  avowed — want  of  a  cor- 
responding principle  of  action  evinced — The  work  not  to  be 
accomplished  without  self-denial — Heavy  burdens  laid  upon 
missionaries — Inquiry  concerning  ministers  ....  175 — 193 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Containing  various  communications  from  July  1, 1821,  to  Janua- 
rr/ 15, 1825. 

Letter  to  the  Sec.  of  the  Board — Death  of  Mr.  Newell — Char- 
acter of  Mr.  Newell — Lapsed  Catholics — Letter  to  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Nott,  Jun. — Letter  to  his  parents — To  his  mother — On 
the  style  of  missionary  communications — Tour  to  the  Ghauts 
— Letter  to  Robert  Ralston,  Esq. — To  Dr.  Porter — labors  of  a 
week 194—210 

CHAPTER  X. 

Including  the  period  from  July  1825,  to  his  death, 

Mrs.  Hall's  departure  for  America — Circular  to  his  Christian 
friends — Journal — interview  with  the  Syrian  Bishop — Death 
of  Mr.  Frost — Bombay  missionary  Union — Extracts  from  his 
sermon — Arrival  of  Mrs.  Hall — Death  of  her  oldest  son — 
Letter  to  J.  D.  Hawley,  Esq, — Letter  to  Rev.  R.  Harrison — 


CONTENTS. 


Last  appeal  to  the  churches — Lines  occasioned  by  reading 
the  appeal — His  last  itinerating  tour — Visit  at  Treembukesh- 
wur — at  Nasseek — ^prevalence  of  the  cholera — His  sudden 
attack— Death 211—243 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Character  of  Mr.  Hall, — Memoir  of  the  Bombay  Mission 
244—260 


LINES, 


ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  GORDON  HALL. 


The  following  lines  were  kindly  furnished  for  this  volume  by  Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigourney, 
at  the  special  request  of  the  compiler,  and  refer  particularly  to  the  dying  scene 
as  presented  in  the  frontispiece,  and  described,  page  242. 


The  Healer  droops, — no  more  his  skill 

May  ease  the  sufferer's  groan  ; 
The  hand  that  sooth'd  another's  pang, 

Sinks  powerless  'neath  its  own  : 
The  Teacher  dies, — he  came  to  plant, 

Deep  in  a  heathen  soil, 
The  germ  of  everlasting  life, — 

He  faints  amid  the  toil. 

There  was  a  vision  of  the  Sea,* 

That  pain'd  his  dying  strife, — 
Why  stole  that  vision  o'er  his  soul 

Thus  'mid  the  wreck  of  life  ? 
A  form,  by  holiest  love  endear'd 

There  rode  the  billowy  crest. 
And  tenderly,  his  pallid  boys 

Were  folded  to  her  breast. 


*  Mrs.  Hall  with  her  two  sons,  were  supposed  to  be  on  their  voyage  to  this 
country. 


XII  LIJVES. 

Then  rose  the  long-remember'd  scenes 

Of  his  far,  native  bowers, 
The  white-spir'd  Church,  the  Mother's  hymn, 

And  boyhood's  clustering  flowers, 
And  strong  that  country  of  his  heart, 

The  green  and  glorious  West, 
Shar'd  in  the  parting  throb  of  love. 

That  shook  the  dying  bi-east. 

Brief  was  the  thought, — the  dream, — the  pang, — 

For  high  Devotion  came. 
And  brought  the  martyr's  speechless  joy, 

And  wing'd  the  prayer  of  flame. 
And  stamp'd  upon  the  marble  face 

Heaven's  smile  serenely  sweet. 
And  bade  the  icy,  quivering  lip 

The  praise  of  God  repeat. 

Strange,  olive  brows,  with  tears  were  wet, 

As  a  lone  grave  was  made, 
And  there,  'mid  Asia's  arid  sands. 

Salvation's  herald  laid, — 
But  bright  that  shroudless  clay  shall  burst 

From  its  uncoffin'd  bed. 
When  the  Archangel's  awful  trump 

Convokes  the  righteous  dead. 

L.  H.  S. 
Hartford,  Ct.  JVov.  1833. 


CHAPTER   I. 

INCLUDING  THE  PERIOD  PRECEDING  HIS  SAILING  FOR  INDIA. 


Gordon  Hall  was  bom  in  the  town  of  Tolland,  for- 
merly Granville,  Mass.,  April  8,  1784.  His  parents, 
Nathan  and  EHzabeth  Hall,  were  natives  of  Ellington, 
Conn.  They  were  among  the  first  settlers  of  Tolland, 
and  were  highly  esteemed  in  the  circle  of  their  acquaint- 
ance for  their  enterprise,  industry  and  correct  moral  hab- 
its. His  father,  Mr.  Nathan  Hall,  died  some  few  years 
ago  ;  his  mother  is  still  living  in  Tolland. 

In  the  days  of  his  early  childhood,  Gordon  Hall  was  re- 
markable for  his  sprightliness,  energy  and  perseverance. 
Among  those  of  his  own^age  and  neighborhood,  he  was 
the  leader  in  all  their  childish  sports.  His  love  of  amuse- 
ment, his  wit  and  vivacity  gave  hfe  and  animation  to 
the  company,  in  which  he  mingled.  In  early  youth  he 
exhibited  uncommon  versatility  of  genius.  In  his  sea- 
sons of  relaxation  from  the  labors  of  the  farm,  he  was  gen- 
erally employed  in  some  mechanical  operation,  upon  a 
small  scale,  such  as  the  construction  of  houses,  mills,  water- 
wheels  he.  As  an  instance  to  show  his  early  aspiration 
after  something  above  mediocrity,  at  the  age  of  fourteen, 
he  undertook  to  make  an  air  balloon,  a  description  of 
which  he  had  somewhere  found  in  his  reading. 

He  early  discovered  a  taste  for  books,  and  particularly 
2 


14  MEMOIR  OF 

for  writing.  His  first  efforts  at  composition  were  descrip- 
tions of  persons  and  often  caricatures,  taking  for  his  sub- 
jects individuals  in  his  own  neighborhood  and  town.  In 
these  efforts,  he  was  remarkably  discriminating,  and  not 
unfrequently  severely  sarcastic.  In  this  last  quality  of 
mind  he  possessed  uncommon  power,  as  his  associates  in 
college  and  after  life,  can  testify.  After  he  became  pious, 
however,  he  never  indulged  himself  in  this  propensity,  be- 
yond the  bounds  of  Christian  propriety. 

He  continued  to  labor  on  his  father's  farm,  improving 
all  his  leisure  time  in  reading  and  writing,  for  which  he 
was  daily  acquiring  an  increasing  rehsh,  till  the  nineteenth 
or  twentieth  year  of  his  age  ;  when  at  the  suggestion  of 
his  minister,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Harrison,  who  then  occupied 
a  part  of  the  same  house  with  his  father.  Hall  fixed  his 
mind  on  a  college  education.  His  father,  though  at  first 
unwilling  to  part  with  him,  finding  that  his  son  was  fix- 
ed, in  his  purpose,  at  length  gave  his  consent. 

Having  prosecuted  his  studies  preparatory  to  entering 
college  under  the  tuition  of  Mr.  Harrison,  he  presented 
himself  to  the  faculty  of  Williams  college  for  admission 
in  Feb.  1805,  at  the  commencement  of  the  second  term. 
When  his  examination  was  through,  the  President  in- 
quired of  the  instructor  of  the  class,  which  Hall  proposed  to 
join,  whether  they  had  proceeded  farther  than  he  had ; — 
the  tutor  answered  in  the  affirmative.  "I  care  not  for 
that,"  said  the  President,  "  that  young  man  has  not  stud- 
ied the  languages  like  a  parrot,  but  has  got  hold  of  their 
very  radix  J  ^ 

This  character  of  a  thorough  scholar,  he  sustained 
through  his  college  course,  and  was  honored  with  the  as- 


GORDON  HALL.  15 

signment  of  the  valedictory,  when  he  graduated  in  Sept. 
1808. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  to  his  family,  near 
the  close  of  his  second  year  in  college,  shows  that  Mr. 
Hall's  mind  was,  at  that  time,  in  a  serious  frame,  though 
it  appears  he  did  not  obtain  for  himself  satisfactory  evi- 
dence of  piety,  till  the  commencement  of  his  third  year, 

Williams  College,  Aug.  1,  1806. 
Dear  friends, 
<< 1  hasten  to  relate  news,  which  will  be  matter  of 


joy  to  those  of  you  who  are  Christians,  The  revival  still 
continues  in  this  town,  and  to  the  everlasting  joy  of  saints 
and  angels,  this  glorious  work  has  commenced  in  college, 
A  number  of  students  have  been  hopefully  converted. 
How  far  the  work  will  extend,  God  only  knows.  You 
are  undoubtedly  anxious  to  know  my  situation.  I  am 
obliged  to  tell  you,  however  grievous,  that  I  am  yet  in 
the  gall  of  bitterness  and  under  the  bonds  of  iniquity.  If  you 
have  hearts  to  pray,  I  need  your  prayers.  It  sometimes 
appears  astonishing  to  me  that  I  am  not  alarmed  under 
so  many  admonitions  and  solemn  warnings  as  I  have.  I 
have  had  line  upon  line  and  precept  upon  precept.     The 

latter  part  of  freshman  year,  L ,  my  room-mate,  was 

hopefully  converted.  The  beginning  of  the  present  year, 
Williams,  another  room-mate,  was  called  into  eternity.  At 

the  beginning  of  this  term,  L ,  who  was  to  room 

with  me,  was  taken  dangerously  ill.     When  I  last  heard 

from  him  his  friends  despaired  of  his  life.    M ,  with 

whom  I  now  room,  is  seriously  impressed. 


16  MEMOIR  OF 

The  circumstances  that  took  place  while  I  was  at 
home  last  term,  you  well  remember.  Many  of  my  asso- 
ciates, in  my  native  town,  became  pious.  My  mother 
and  my  two  sisters  professed  to  have  made  their  peace 
with  God.  My  only  brother  was  then  under  serious  im- 
pressions, who,  if  he  has  obtained  a  well  grounded  hope 
in  Christ,  is  in  a  happy  condition.  If  these  four  are  gen- 
uine Christians,  you  and  I,  O  my  dear  father,  are  the 
only  two,  in  the  family,  who  yet  remain  impenitent. 
Alarming  thought !  Shall  we,  while  life  remains,  be  af- 
flicted with  the  religious  conversation  of  our  dear  friends, 
or  shall  our  neglect  of  this  subject,  be  a  source  of  unhap- 
piness  to  them  ?  Shall  we,  through  life,  be  divided  from 
them  in  sentiment  and  feeling  ? — and,  what  is  far  more 
dreadful,  shall  we  be  separated  from  them  through  eternity? 

I  can  never  persuade  myself  that  religion  is  a  phan- 
tom.    It  is  a  solemn  reality." 

From  the  time  that  Hall  became  pious,  which  was 
near  the  close  of  1806,  he  formed  and  cultivated  an  inti- 
mate acqaintance  and  friendship  with  Samuel  J.  Mills, 
who  was  one  year  behind  him  in  the  same  college.  Mills,  as 
is  well  known,  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  instruments 
in  promoting  the  revival  of  which  Hall  was  a  subject. 
It  was  to  Gordon  Hall  and  James  Richards,  that  Mills 
first  unbosomed  his  missionary  purposes  ;  and  in  both,  he 
found  a  spirit  congenial  with  his  own,  and  minds  devot- 
ed to  the  same  benevolent  object. 

The  friendship  formed  under  these  circumstances,  as 
we  may  well  suppose,  became  more  and  more  intimate 


GORDON    HALL. 


17 


and  endearing  through  life,  and  is  now  gloriously  perfect- 
ed in  heaven.* 

From  the  time  of  his  conversion,  Mr.  Hall's  piety  was  of 
a  very  decided  character.  "  As  a  Christian,"  says  one  of 
his  fellow  students  in  college  (the  late  Rev.  Ezra  Fiske,  D. 
D.)  "  he  was  uniform,  consistent,  decided  and  influential. 
He  took  a  leading  part  in  the  rehgious  exercises  of  the  stu- 
dents, in  the  Theological  Society  and  prayer  meetings. — 
His  reputation  as  a  scholar  was  very  decidedly  the  first 
in  his  class,  and  suffered  not  in  comparison  with  any  one 
in  college.  I  have  often  admired  his  talent,  taste  and 
piety,  as  they  were  exhibited  in  his  essays  and  disserta- 
tions before  the  Literary  and  Theological  Societies  in  col- 
lege, and  in  the  conference  room." 

Soon  after  leaving  college  in  the  autumn  of  1808,  Mr. 
Hall  commenced  the  study  of  theology  in  the  family  and 
under  the  instruction  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Porter  of  Andover, 
who  then  resided  in  Washington,  Conn.  He  studied 
but  about  a  year  before  he  received  license  to  preach. — 
In  the  autumn  of  1809  he  received  a  pressing  invitation  to 
preach,  as  a  candidate  for  settlement,  in  Woodbury,  Conn. 
But  when  he  consented  to  go,  it  w^as  on  this  condition, 
that  should  the  people  be  ever  so  much  united  in  wishing 
him  to  stay,  his  preaching  to  them  should  not  be  consid- 
ered as  implying  any  obligation  on  his  part  to  remain  there. 


*  It  is  much  to  be  regretted,  that  the  numerous  letters  from 
Mr.  Hall's  pen,  to  Mr.  Mills,  which  would  have  greatly  enrich- 
ed this  volume,  were  some  years  ago  consumed,  by  the  burn- 
ing of  the  house,  in  which  they  were  deposited. 

2* 


18  MEMOIR  OF 

It  is  now  well  understood  that  Mr.  Hall's  mind  was 
then  fixed  upon  going  to  the  heathen,  should  divine 
Providence  open  the  way.  And  to  know  whether  Prov- 
idence would  open  the  way,  Mr.  Hall  deemed  it  impor- 
tant, not  only  that  he  should  keep  himself  free  from  all 
engagements,  that  would  hinder  his  going,  but  that  he 
should  employ  every  expedient  within  his  reach  to  get 
access  to  the  heathen. 

Mr.  Hall  preached  in  Woodbury  from  the  autumn  of 
1809  to  June  1810,  not  however  without  interruptions 
occasioned  by  preaching  in  other  places. — His  preaching 
in  Woodbury  is  remembered  and  spoken  of  with  deep  in- 
terest by  the  people  in  that  place,  to  the  present  day.  He 
was  always  greatly  in  earnest  in  presenting  the  claims  of 
God  to  the  hearts  of  his  hearers.  One  sermon  in  particu- 
lar is  remembered  with  deep  interest  by  many  who  heard 
it,  from  the  following  text :  "  Grant  not,  O  Lord,  the  de- 
sires of  the  wicked."  Many  are  the  individuals  in  that  place, 
who  will  never  forget  his  direct,  bold,  and  pointed  ap- 
peals to  their  hearts  and  consciences,  and  will  never  cease 
to  bless  God  for  his  instrumentality  in  their  conversion. 

In  Feb.  1810,  Mr.  Hall  was  invited  to  preach  in  Pitts- 
field,  Mass.  where  he  continued  near  two  months,  after 
which  he  returned  to  Woodbury.  At  the  time  he  was 
in  Pittsfield,  his  mind  seemed  fluctuating  between  foreign 
and  domestic  missions,  as  appears  from  the  following  let- 
ter, resulting  from  the  fact,  that  no  provision  was  yet 
made  for  sending  missionaries  to  the  heathen,  and  no 
prospects  of  an  encouraging  nature  were  opened  before 
him. 


GORDON    HALL.  19 

Extract  of  a  letter  to  Rev.  J,  H.,  dated 

Pittsfield,  Feb.  19,  1810. 
Dear  Sir, 
"  In  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  I  parted  with  you, 
I  arrived  at  Torringford,  and  spent  the  night  with  Rev. 
Mr.  Mills.  Samuel  J.  had  left  for  Andover  —  neverthe- 
less I  had  a  rich  visit.  I  saw  the  Hawaian  youth  [Henry 
Obookiah]  and  heard  him  read  and  spell  and  say  his  les- 
sons.— I  could  not  but  think  of  the  poor  heathen — if  my 
heart  did  not  ache  for  them,  it  was  because  it  contained 
neither  love  to  Jesus  nor  good  will  to  the  souls  of  men. — 
You  know  my  feelings  on  the  subject  of  missions  to  the 
heathen  ;  they  continue  the  same,  unless  it  b^,  that  every 
reflection  swells  my  zeal.  I  have  before  i!Te  Home's  let- 
ters on  missions,  and  Dr.  Livingston's  missionary  sermons. 
They  are  enough  to  move  an  heart  of  adamant. 

In  conversation  with  Mr.  Mills,  I  introduced  the  sub- 
ject of  missions  to  some  of  our  new  settlements,  and  told 
him  I  felt  disposed  to  profter  my  services  to  the  Mission- 
ary Society." 

y^Xn  the  summer  of  1810,  he  connected  himself  with  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  Andover,  where  with  Mills  and 
Richards  and  other  kindred  spirits,  his  missionary  plans  were 
more  matured.  At  this  period.  Hall  in  connexion  with  his 
brethren,  resolved  to  labor  in  some  part  of  India,  as  no 
other  section  of  the  heathen  world  seemed  open  to  their 
reception,  certainly  not  with  such  extensive  prospects  of 
usefulness. 

To  effect  their  purpose,  they  resolved  in  the  first 
place  to  make  known  their  wishes  to  the  General  As- 
sociation of    Massachusetts,    and   ask  their  aid  in   this 


20  MEMOIR    OP 

work. — If  that  should  fail,  other  plans  were  to  be  resorted 
to.  In  case  all  other  means  of  getting  to  the  heathen  in 
Asia  should  fail,  Mr.  Hall  was  ready  to  pledge  himself 
that  he  would  work  his  passage  to  India,  and  then  throw 
himself,  under  Providence,  upon  his  own  resources,  that 
he  might  preach  the  gospel  to  the  heathen.  The  Gen- 
eral Association  w^ere  deeply  affected  with  the  object, 
and  greatly  interested  in  these  young  men.  The  result 
of  this  application  w^as  the  formation  of  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions.  But  at 
this  time  they  had  no  funds,  and  it  was  thought  very 
doubtful  whether  money  enough  could  be  raised  immedi- 
ately to  send  out  and  support  more  than  one  or  two. 

The  following  extracts  of  a  letter  to  his  parents  vvill 
show  the  state  of  his  mind  on  the  subject  at  that  time. 

Ajidover,  June  30,  1810. 
"  Last  week  1  left  W.     The  church  and  society  had 


given  me  a  call  to  settle  with  them  as  their  minister,  with 
a  salary  of  ^600. — All  things  were  agreeable  and  inviting. 
Such  were  the  circumstances,  that  if  I  should  settle  any 
where  in  my  native  land,  I  should  think  it  my  duty  to  ac- 
cept the  call.  But  you  will  recollect,  that  I  have  often  spok- 
en to  you  on  the  subject  of  missions  to  the  heathen.  This 
great  subject  beai's  upon  my  mind  with  increasing  weight. 
So  abundant  are  the  means  of  grace  in  this  Christian  land, 
and  such  is  the  destitute  and  perishing  state  of  the  hea- 
then, that  I  am  fully  persuaded  the  churches  ought  to 
make  exertions  to  send  them  the  gospel.  But  this  can- 
not be  effected,  unless  young  men  come  forward  and  of- 


GORDON    HALL.  21 

fer  themselves  to  the  work.  And  if  some  ought  to  go  to 
the  heathen,  why  ought  not  /to  go,  for  one  ?  Surely  I 
think  I  ought,  if  God  permit  and  enable  me,  to  go  and 
publish  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  through  a  Redeemer's 
blood  to  those  who  have  never  heard  his  name.  Conse- 
quently I  am  resolved  to  return  a  negative  answer  to  the 

people  in  W ,  and  spend  the  summer  in  this  Institution, 

with  a  view  of  preparing  myself,  so  far  as  I  can,  for  a  mis- 
sion to  the  heathen. 

My  dear  parents,  it  will  be  trying  to  your  parental  ten- 
derness to  see  your  son  leaving  you,  to  live  and  die  in  a 
foreign  land.  But  have  you  not  given  me  away,  in  cove- 
nant to  God  ?  If  not,  then  surely  it  is  your  immediate 
duty  so  to  do.  When  you  have,  with  your  hearts,  given 
me  to  God,  then  you  will  be  willing  I  should  go  wherever 
he  calls  me. 

It  is,  however,  uncertain  whether    the  object 

contemplated  will  be  speedily  accomplished — the  attempt 
will  be  made  ;  the  event  must  be  left  to  God. 

How  my  Lord  and  Master  intends  to  dispose  of  me,  I 
am  not  allowed  to  know.  May  his  Spirit  direct  me  in  all 
duty !  My  dear  parents,  do  you  not  pray  for  your  poor, 
sinful  child,  who  is  called  to  such  great  and  momentous 
duties  ?" 

The  following  is  extracted  from  a  letter  to  his  parents 
and  brother,  dated  Boston,  Feb.  8, 1811.  It  may  not  be 
improper  to  remark,  that  at  this  period  neither  his  father 
nor  brother  were  professors  of  religion. 

"  I  am  residing  in  this  town  for  the  purpose  of  attending 
to  medical  instructions,  believing  that  even  a  moderate 


22  MEMOIR    OF 

degree  of  medical  knowledge  will  be  beneficial  to  me  in 
future  life. 

As  to  my  missionary  engagements,  I  hope  you  have 
candidly  and  prayerfully  inquired  of  the  Lord,  what  he 
would  have  me  do.  This  is  a  subject  on  which  I  have 
meditated  for  almost  three  years,  and  I  firmly  believe  it  is 
my  duty  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  heathen.  Will  you 
say  it  is  delusion  and  enthusiasm  ?  Do  not,  my  dear 
friends,  lest  by  so  doing,  you  be  found  fighting  against 
God?  Do  you  say,  it  is  not  my  duty  to  leave  you,  and 
go  to  the  heathen  ?  Let  me  ask,  have  you  prayerfully 
inquired  of  the  Lord,  whether  he  would  have  me  go  ? 
If  not,  you  are  by  no  means  prepared  to  decide  the  ques- 
tion. Will  you  say,  you  cannot  think  of  parting,  for  life  ? 
Remember  that  death  will  soon  separate  us,  whether  we 
consent  or  not.  Of  what  consequence  would  it  be,  though 
seas  and  continents  stretch  their  length  between  us, 
for  a  few  days,  if  afterwards  we  meet  at  God's  right  hand  ? 

There  are  many  parents  who  would  rejoice  to  have  a 
son  willing  to  go  through  hardships  and  dangers  and  spend 
a  life  in  preaching  the  everlasting  gospel  to  the  perishing 
heathen.  Could  I  see  the  love  of  Christ  thus  constrain- 
ing my  dear  parents  to  rejoice,  I  should  be  amply  reward- 
ed for  all  I  could  endure  in  the  missionary  hfe.  It  is  my 
earnest  desire  and  prayer,  that  God  would  give  you  such 
views  of  the  value  of  immortal  souls,  of  the  worth  of  a 
Saviour's  blood,  and  the  necessity  of  the  gospel  being 
preached  to  every  creature,  as  shall  incline  you  cheerfully 
to  consent  that  I  should  go,  and  even  rejoice  that  you 
are  permitted  to  give  me  up,  that  I  may  do  something 
for  the  salvation  of  the  poor  heathen. 


GORDON    HALL.  2^ 

O  how  unworthy  am  I  to  be  employed  in  publishing 
pardon,  life  and  glory  to  perishing  sinners,  through  a  cru- 
cified Redeemer  !  How  unworthy  to  spend  and  be  spent 
in  the  service  of  Christ !  How  abundantly  does  he  re- 
ward all  who  cheerfully  engage  in  his  service  ? — and  how 
assuredly  will  he  punish  all,  who  will  not  submit  to  him, 
take  up  the  cross  and  follow  him  ! 

My  dear  father,  you  are  almost  in  the  grave.— 

O  that  I  might  see  you  rejoicing  in  Christ,  before  I  leave 

you ! My  beloved  mother,  are  you  a  disciple  of  Christ  ? 

— Arise  and  trim  your  lamp  ! — Dear  brother,  choose  the 
one  thing  needful. — O  my  dear  friends,  could  I  see  all 
this,  how  joyfully  should  I  leave  you  ! 

The  following  are  extracts  from  Mr.  Hall's  letters  to 
a  friend,  who  was  then,  with  much  solicitude,  examining 
the  subject  of  foreign  missions,  with  reference  to  engag- 
ing personally  in  the  great  work. 

Andover,  Nov.  10,  1810. 

"  My  dear  L , 

If,  after  all  your  meditations  and  prayers  on  the 


subject  of  missions,  the  love  of  Jesus  persuade  you,  that 
it  is  your  duty  and  happiness  to  take  up  the  cross  and  go 
to  India,  for  the  purpose  of  bearing  the  tidings  of  pardon 
and  peace  to  dying  sinners,  will  any  one  dare  to  raise  a 
forbidding  voice — or  stretch  out  a  restraining  hand  ? — Ah  • 
it  is  possible.  I  have  seen  the  throbbing  hearts  of  my  own 
dear  parents.  But  the  momentary  sighs  and  tears  of 
parents  and  friends  are  a  poor  trifle,  when  compared  witH^ 
the  eternal  weeping  of  those   miserable  souls,  who  are 


24  MEMOIR    OF 

sinking  into  eternity  ignorant  of  a  Saviour's  blood.  Why 
should  parents  and  sisters  and  brothers  object  ?  Can  it 
be  because  they  have  so  much  love  to  Christ,  and  the 
souls  of  men  ?  Can  it  be  because  they  have  so  much 
love  to  God,  acquiescence  in  his  will  and  confidence  in  his 
righteous  dispensations,  that  they  can  cheerfully  give  them- 
selves and  their  dear  friends  to  him,  and  commit  them  to 
his  care  and  disposal  ?  Or  is  it  because  they  think,  that 
if  their  friends  are  near  them  they  can  preserve  their 
health  or  their  lives,  and  for  a  long  time  enjoy  their  so- 
ciety and  render  them  happy  ?  Oh  !  why  this  opposi- 
tion.— The  Lord  judge  between  such  opposers  and  the 
poor  perishing  heathen. 

If  after  examining  your  own  feelings  on  this  subject, 
you  are  fully  inclined  to  go  and  bear  a  part  in  this  great 
work,  I  cannot  think  that  your  parents  and  friends  will 
presume  to  forbid,  or  even  object.  Their  regard  for  your 
happiness  and  their  reverence  for  so  great  and  good  an 
object,  will  I  trust  dispose  them  to  give  their  consent. — 
Blessed  be  God  there  are  some  parents,  who  rejoice  that 
they  have  children  willing  to  forsake  them  and  their  coun- 
try for  Christ." 

Boston^  Jan.  7,  1811. 
"  . If  the  love  of  Christ,  above  every  thing  else 


does  not  constrain  us  to  engage  in  tlie  missionary  work, 
surely,  instead  of  finding  happiness,  of  all  persons  we 
shall  be  the  most  miserable.  Should  you  be  disposed  to 
engage  in  the  work,  in  consequence  of  any  persuasion 
by  me,  and  afterward  find  yourself  unhappy,  I  should 
ever  regret  having  used  any  persuasion.     On  more  ma- 


GORDON    HALL.  25 

ture  consideration,  I  have  been  ready  to  think  that  in 
conversing  and  corresponding  v^^ith  you,  on  this  subject,  I 
have  not  dwelt  sufficiently  on  the  hardships  and  trials  to 
be  expected,  and  also  the  great  need  of  being  crucified 
and  dead  to  the  world,  and  swallowed  up  in  the  cause  of 
our  Lord  and  Savior. 

These  [earthly  connexions]  are  of  trifling  con- 
sequence, but  it  is  of  everlasting,  of  infinite  importance 
that  the  poor  heathen  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them ; 
and  I  feel  it  to  be  of  great  importance,  that  I  should  stand 
willing  and  ready  to  perform  the  part  to  which  my  Sa- 
vior calls  me.  I  fully  believe  it  is  my  duty  to  spend  my 
life  in  this  work. — I  have  vowed  unto  the  Lord,  and  I 
cannot  go  back.  I  do  not  think  it  my  duty  to  go  back  ; 
and  I  have  no  wish  to  do  it.  If  I  am  allowed  to  labor 
and  suffer  and  die  in  the  work  of  the  gospel  among  the 
heathen,  I  shall  count  myself  happy," 

''Boston,  Jan.  24,  1811. 

Last  week  I  received  yours  of  Dec.  27th,  and 


your  Father's  of  Jan.  7th.  The  latter  I  answered  Mon- 
day last.  The  most  painful  thing  in  your  Father's  letter 
was  the  manner  in  which  he  spoke  of  the  gospel  of  our 
Lord  Jesus.  In  my  reply,  I  endeavored  to  be  faithful  to 
his  soul.  Should  his  present  trials  bring  him  savingly  to 
Christ,  O  how  would  it  more  than  a  thousand  times  out- 
weigh all  ours. 

The   subject  which  you  are  now  examining, 

and  on  which  you  are  now  deciding  and  acting  is  great ; 
the  more  extensively  you  contemplate  it,  the  greater  it 
will  appear.     If  while  contemplating  it,  distressing  doubts, 
3 


26  MEMOIR    OF 

as  to  the  path  of  duty  should  arise,  it  would  not  be  strange, 
— you  would  not  be  alone.  In  such  a  case,  you  must 
enquire  earnestly  and  constantly  of  the  Lord,  Only 
give  Jesus  your  hand,  keep  hold  of  him,  and  he  will  lead 
you  safely  in  the  right  way." 

''Andover,  April  23,  1811. 

The  more  I  attend  to  the  subject  of  missions, 

the  more  fully  am  I  persuaded  that  it  is  my  duty  to  go  to 
the  heathen ;  and  I  rejoice  in  knowing  that  you  believe 
that  it  is  right  for  rne  to  go,  and  for  all  who  are  fitted 
by  grace  for  the  work.  O  tliat  I  were  fitted  !  But  who 
is  able — who  is  worthy  to  enter  into  this  great  work  of 
the  Lord ! 

I  am  persuaded  that  the  constraining  love  of  Christ 
would  give  your  relatives,  and  also  my  own,  very  differ- 
ent views  of  the  subject  of  missions.  I  have  recently  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  my  father's  family  ; — it  seems  proba- 
ble that  none  of  them  will  ever  give  their  consent  for 
me  to  leave  this  country.  Is  it  not  hard  to  look  for- 
ward to  a  mission  in  India,  with  all  its  labors  and  suffer- 
ings, and  experience  so  much  opposition  from  friends  ? 
But  hush !  I  am  not  worthy  to  endure  tribulation  for 
Christ. — "  The  servant  is  not  above  his  master." 

"  Philadelphia,  Aug,  20,  1811. 

Brother  G has  made  known  to  me  the 

sore  affliction  you  have  experienced  in  the  death  of  your 
father.  Such  is  the  common  lot  of  mortals ;  yet  the  stroke 
IS  grievous.  It  calls  for  consolation ;  and  the  gospel  of 
Christ  points  you  to  an  open  fountain.     Approach  and 


GORDON    HALL.  27 

drink  freely  ;  for  all  the  children  of  sorrow  can  never  ex- 
haust it.  Remember  that  Jesus  had  sorrow,  that  you 
might  have  joy.  Though  for  a  season  he  sorely  afflicts, 
it  is  no  proof  that  he  loves  you  the  less,  for  whom  he 
loveth  he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  re- 
ceiveth.  If  ye  endure  chastening,  happy  are  ye.  These 
light  afflictions,  which  are  but  for  a  moment,  shall  work 
out  for  you  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory.  But  for  a  moment.' — The  sorrows  of  Christ's 
people  are  but  for  a  moment. — Soon,  very  soon,  he  will  call 
them  from  a  world  of  sin  and  sorrow,  receive  them  to 
himself,  and  wipe  all  tears  from  their  eyes.  Blessed 
change !  May  God  Almighty  fit  you  for  it !  I  heartily 
sympatliize  with  you,  in  your  affliction  ! — If  I  have  ever 
prayed,  it  was  that  you  might  find  support  and  consola- 
tion ;  and  that  he,  who  in  righteousness  hath  appointed 
your  afflictions,  would,  in  mercy,  cause  them  all  to  work 
together  for  the  good  of  your  soul  and  the  glory  of  his 
name. 

There  is  an  end  to  earthly  woes.  A  few  painful 
changes,  and  we  shall  change  no  more.  Blessed  be  that 
Savior,  whose  blood  has  bought  for  his  people  a  better 
inheritance  than  this  poor  world  can  afford.  May  that 
inheritance  be  yours. — May  the  hope  of  that  inheritance 
prove  a  safe  anchor  to  your  soul  in  every  time  of  trouble, 
and  a  peaceful  covert  amidst  all  the  storms  which  sweep 
around  this  sea  of  life." 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  to  the  father 
of  the  individual  to  whom  the  five  preceding  were  address" 
ed.     It  presents  a  fair  specimen  of  Mr.  Hall's  Christian 


MEMOIR    OF 


fidelity  and  pungency  in  addressing  the  heart  and  con- 
science. 


''Boston,  Jan,  21,  1811, 


Dear  Sir 


On  Saturday  last,  I  received  your  letter.  I  have 
read  it  over  and  over ; — and  beUeve  me,  I  have  read  it, 
with  pain  in  my  heart  and  tears  in  my  eyes.  Do  you 
ask,  Why  this  distress  ?  give  me  leave  to  be  plain,  and  I 
will  tell  you.  One  principal  reason,  dear  Sir,  is,  because 
I  see  that  you  are  not  a  friend  to  Christ.  But  so  far 
from  this,  you  have  such  views  of  his  atoning  blood,  of 
the  exceeding  riches  of  his  grace,  and  of  the  nature  of  his 
gospel,  that  you  think  it  "  unnecessary,  unwise  and  un- 
righteous," for  men  to  go  through  trials,  that  they  may 
carry  the  proclamation  of  pardon  and  eternal  life  to  the 
perishing  heathen.  To  hear  a  poor  ignorant  idolater, 
who  is  contending  for  the  sanctity  of  his  gods  and  the 
sufficiency  of  his  pagan  worship,  utter  such  a  sentiment, 
would  not  be  surprising.  But  to  hear  a  man  saying  this  with 
the  gospel  before  him, — oh,  what  heart  does  not  ache — 
what  eye  does  not  weep  for  his  precious  soul  1  O,  my 
dear  Sir,  how  dare  you  utter  such  a  sentiment  ?  Did  you 
derive  it  from  a  humble,  diligent  and  prayerful  study  of 
the  Bible  ?  Did  you  learn  it  while  on  your  knees  de- 
voutly imploring  the  Spirit  of  God  to  instruct  you  ?  Is  it 
the  language  of  sober  reason  ?  Is  it  the  voice  of  your 
conscience  ?  I  beg  you  to  pause, — I  entreat  you  to 
change  your  feelings  toward  Christ  and  his  gospel,  or  be 
assured  you  must  soon  perish  with  those  miserable  idol- 
aters, to  whom  you  now  think  it  "  unrighteous,'^  to  car- 


GORDON    HALL.  29 

ry  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  through  a  crucified  Re- 
deemer. 

You  and  I,  Sir,  must  soon  meet  in  judgment.  Know- 
ing this,  I  dare  not  write  you  without  using  great  plain- 
ness of  speech  and  solemn  entreaties.  I  trust  it  is  from 
love  to  your  soul.  I  am  persuaded  that  when  your  dis- 
embodied spirit  appears  before  the  bar  of  God,  to  be  judg- 
ed by  the  crucified  Savior,  you  will  not  think  as  you 
now  do.  Then  you  will  know  of  what  importance  it  is 
that  the  gospel  be  preached  to  every  creature.  Yes,  and 
you  will  see  how  important  it  is  for  each  soul  to  believe 
and  obey  it.  I  beseech  you.  Sir,  without  delay,  prepare 
for  that  awful  hour.  Let  it  be  your  first  and  chief  con- 
cern. And  till  you  convince  me  that  the  gospel  is  a  fa- 
ble ; — till  I  am  driven  from  all  hope  of  pardon  and  eter- 
nal life,  through  the  blood  of  Jesus,  in  vain  do  you  tell 
me,  it  is  "  enthusiasm,  over-heated  zeal  and  unrighteous- 
ness" to  be  earnestly  engaged  for  the  difi:usion  of  this  gos- 
pel among  the  heathen.  So  long  as  I  am  persuaded  that 
every  one  who  does  not  repent  of  his  sins  and  believe  in 
Christ,  shall  be  damned,  you  must  allow  me.  Sir,  to  pray 
for  your  soul,  and  labor  for  the  souls  of  the  heathen." 

Mr.  Hall  had  now  come  to  a  fixed  purpose  to  preach 
the  gospel  to  the  heathen,  in  some  part  of  India ;  but  it 
was  then  uncertain  whether  the  American  Board  for 
Foreign  Missions,  then  in  its  infancy,  and  without  funds, 
would  be  able  to  furnish  the  necessary  support.  Being 
anxious  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  field  of  their  fu- 
ture labor,  Mr.  Hall  and  some  of  his  brethren  proposed  to 
oflfer  themselves  as  missionaries  to  India  under  the  direc- 
3* 


30  MEMOIR    OF 

tion  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  on  condition  that 
the  means  of  support  could  not  be  furnished  at  home. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  American  Board 
deemed  it  expedient  to  send  Mr.  Judson,  one  of  the  mis- 
sionary candidates,  to  England,  to  ascertain  what,  if  any, 
assistance  could  be  extended  to  the  mission,  by  the  Lon- 
don Missionary  Society  ;  and  to  confer  with  the  directors 
of  that  Society  in  regard  to  arrangements  for  a  concert 
of  measures. 

The  following  is  a  communication  made  by  Mr.  Hall 
to  Rev.  George  Burder,  Secretary  of  the  London  Mission- 
ary Society,  containing  an  abstract  of  his  views  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine  and  experience,  with  a  brief  statement  of 
his  motives  in  devoting  himself  to  the  cause  of  Christ 
among  the  heathen.  A  communication  of  this  kind,  at- 
tended with  other  testimonials,  was  deemed  necessary, 
that  the  directors  of  that  Society  might  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  religious  views  and  character  of  the  in- 
dividuals in  whose  support,  as  missionaries,  a  co-operation 
was  solicited. 

"  Dec.  24,  1810. 
Rev.  Sir, 
Supposing  that  communications,  introducing  me  to 
your  Missionary  Society,  have  been  already  laid  before 
you,  I  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  brief  statement 
of  my  views  of  Christian  doctrine  and  experience. 

There  is  but  one  true  God,  mysteriously  existing  in 
three  distinct  persons,  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost, 
— all  equal  in  their  natural  and  moral  perfections. — The 


GORDON    HALL.  31 

providence  of  this  God  extends  to  every  event,  for  he 
worketh  all  things  after  the  council  of  his  own  will.  God 
created  man  in  his  own  image,  holy  and  upright,  but  man 
soon  transgressed,  and  thereby  the  whole  human  race 
fell  into  a  state  of  sin  and  condemnation.  Then  was 
brought  into  operation  the  eternal  plan  of  redeeming  love, 
in  accomplishment  of  which,  the  second  person  of  the 
Trinity,  in  a  manner  incomprehensible,  united  his  God- 
head with  human  nature,  obeyed,  suffered  and  died  in 
the  place  of  sinners,  and  thereby  wrought  out  an  atone- 
ment sufficient  for  the  sins  of  the  w^hole  world.  The 
conditions  on  which  pardon  and  salvation  are  offered 
through  this  atonement  are  repentance  for  sin  and  faith 
in  Christ.  But  as  all  men  in  their  natural  state  are  en- 
tirely destitute  of  holiness,  and  wholly  under  the  influence  of 
sin,  they  have  not  the  least  inclination  to  comply  with  these 
conditions,  and  nothing  short  of  regeneration  by  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Holy  Ghost,  will  ever  bring  them  to  ac- 
cept of  pardon  through  a  Savior. — It  was  therefore  a 
part  of  the  eternal  plan  of  redemption,  that  a  certain  por- 
tion or  definite  number  of  mankind  should  be  arrested  in 
their  course  of  sin,  renewed  by  the  special  agency  of  the 
Spirit,  justified  freely  through  the  righteousness  of  Christ, 
and  kept  by  the  powder  of  God,  through  faith  unto  Salva- 
tion, while  the  rest  of  the  world  are  left  to  their  own  chos- 
en w^ay,  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  their  iniquity,  and  per- 
ish forever.  These  truths  I  profess  to  believe,  and  in 
the  place  of  a  more  minute  detail,  I  would  refer  you  to 
tlie  Westminster  confession  of  faith  and  Assembly's  cate- 
chism, believing  them  to  comprise  the  true  and  essen- 
tial doctrines  of  the  gospel. 


32  MEMOIR    OF 

As  to  a  saving  acquaintance  with  these  truths,  my 
experience  presents  nothing  very  distinguishing.  About 
four  and  a  half  years  ago,  while  a  member  of  college,  my 
mind  was  excited  to  a  practical  contemplation  of  divine 
things,  and  brought  under  solemn  impressions,  which  in- 
creased, till  1  was  so  far  sensible  of  my  enmity  to  God 
and  my  guilt  as  a  sinner,  that  my  distress  was  very  great. 
But  such  was  my  relief  and  my  subsequent  views  and 
feelings,  that  I  could  not  but  indulge  the  belief,  that  the 
God  of  all  mercy  and  grace,  had  renewed  my  heart,  grant- 
ed me  repentance  and  pardon,  through  the  atoning  blood 
of  Jesus.  From  that  period  to  the  present,  my  feelings 
have  been  various,  yet  reviewing  their  whole  progress,  I 
think  they  afford  me  increasing  evidence  that  God  has  had 
mercy  on  my  soul,  and  brought  me  out  of  darkness  into 
his  marvellous  light.  From  the  first  time  I  dared  to  call 
Jesus  my  Saviour,  it  has  been  my  uniform  desire,  that 
God  would  condescend  to  employ  me  in  the  gospel  of 
his  Son.  Nearly  three  years  ago,  my  mind  was  called  to 
the  subject  of  missions  to  the  heathen.  But  as  there  was 
but  little  said  in  this  country,  on  this  subject,  and  still  less 
attempted,  and  as  the  call  for  laborers  among  our  infant 
settlements  was  daily  increasing,  my  mind  was  held  in 
suspense.  I  endeavored  to  keep  the  subject  in  view,  and 
examine  it  with  diligence  and  prayer.  I  was  soon  per- 
suaded that  it  would  be  my  duty  to  spend  my  life  among 
the  heathen,  should  Providence  open  the  way  for  a  mis- 
sion to  go  out  from  this  country.  Having  this  firm  per- 
suasion, when  I  commenced  preaching  I  did  not  wish  to 
be  considered  a  candidate  for  settlement  in  the  minis- 
try.    But  contrary  to  my  wishes,  I  received  a  call  to 


GORDON    HALL.  33 

settle  over  a  respectable  church  and  people  in  Connecticut, 
attended  by  circumstances  urgent  and  inviting.  In  this 
situation  I  opened  my  views  and  feelings  to  a  number  of 
the  fathers  in  the  ministry,  whose  advice,  together  with 
the  result  of  subsequent  deliberations  of  the  General  As- 
sociation of  Massachusetts,  left  me  no  longer  any  room 
to  doubt,  as  to  my  duty. 

Since  that  period,  I  have  considered  my  Ufe,  as  sacred- 
ly devoted  to  the  cause  of  Christ  among  the  heathen. 
Should  the  great  Head  of  the  church  see  fit  to  call  me  to 
this  service,  I  think  I  shall  view  it  as  a  great  and  pre- 
cious privilege  to  forsake  my  friends  and  my  country,  and 
go  to  the  poor  heathen,  and  there  labor  and  suffer,  as  the 
grace  of  God  shall  enable  me.  To  this,  I  trust  the  love 
of  Jesus  constrains  me. 

Should  your  Society,  from  the  communications  they 
have  received  on  the  subject,  see  fit  to  employ  me  in  their 
service,  I  hope  the  grace  of  God  will  not  suffer  me  to 
disappoint  theii^  reasonable  expectation,  and  give  them 
and  all  the  friends  of  Zion  occasion  to  lament  my  apos- 
tacy. 

From  your  humble  servant, 

Gordon  Hall." 

From  the  communications  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society,  dated  June,  1811,  it  appears 
that  the  directors  gave  the  most  favorable  reception  to 
Mr.  Judson,  the  messenger  of  the  American  Board,  ex- 
pressed much  satisfaction  with  the  testimonials  they  had 
received  of  the  qualifications  of  Messrs.  Judson,  Newell, 
Hall  and  Nott,  for  missionary  labor,  and  a  willingness  to 


34  MEMOIR    OF 

receive  them  under  their  direction  and  support,  as  mis- 
sionaries to  India. 

When,  however,  it  was  ascertained  that  there  were 
necessarily  obstacles  to  a  co-operation  between  the  Lon- 
don Society  and  the  American  Board,  in  the  joint  sup- 
port and  direction  of  these  young  men  ;  since  some  liber- 
al donations  had  been  made  to  increase  the  funds  of  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  since  by  raising  up  young 
men  from  the  churches  in  this  country,  with  a  mission- 
ary spirit  and  qualifications,  divine  Providence  seemed 
distinctly  to  call  on  these  churches  for  the  requisite  means 
of  support,  the  Board  voted,  September  18,  1811,  that 
they  retain  these  young  men  under  their  care,  to  labor 
under  the  direction  of  the  Board  in  Asia,  either  in  the 
Burman  Empire,  or  in  Surat,  or  in  Prince  of  Wales  Island, 
or  elsewhere,  as  in  the  view  of  the  Prudential  Committee, 
Providence  shall  open  the  most  favorable  door. 

The  question  being  now  settled  in  regard  to  his  fu- 
ture course,  in  the  autumn  of  1811,  Mr.  Hall  and  Mr. 
Newell  repaired  to  Philadelphia,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Board,  for  the  purpose  of  availing  themselves  of  the 
advantages  afforded  for  medical  instruction  in  that  city, 
with  reference  to  their  greater  usefulness  among  the  hea- 
then. Owing  to  commercial  embarrassments,  which  then 
existed,  it  was  not  expected  that  an  opportunity  of  a  pas- 
sage to  India  would  soon  occur. 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter  to  his  parents  and 
family  exhibits  another  evidence  of  the  deep  solicitude  of 
Mr.  Hall  for  their  spiritual  welfare,  and  his  faithfulness 
in  exhortation. 


GORDON    HALL.  36 

''Philadelphia,  Oct,  1,  1811, 
My  dearly  beloved  friends, 

Are  you  not  willing  that  your  son  and  broth- 


er should  go,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  proclaim  par- 
don and  eternal  life  to  those  who  know  not  God  and  are 
trusting  to  their  idols  ?  Should  you  cheerfully  give  me 
up  thus  to  labor  in  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  follow  me  to 
the  heathen  with  your  prayers,  would  not  this  be  pleas- 
ing to  Christ,  who  died  that  sinners  might  live,  and  ha3 
solemnly  commanded  that  his  gospel  be  preached  to  eve- 
ry creature  ?  Can  you  oppose  my  going  to  the  heathen, 
without  opposing  him,  who  gave  this  command  to  his 
ministers  ?  I  hope  the  love  of  Jesus  will  sweetly  con- 
strain you  to  see  and  feel,  that  it  is  your  duty  and  a  pri^ 
vilege  to  yield  me  to  God,  to  be  employed  by  him  in  this 
great  and  good  work.  There  are  parents,  who  through 
divine  grace,  can  rejoice  to  see  their  sons  zealously  en- 
gaged in  this  work.  O  may  I  be  such  a  son,  and  you 
such  parents !  Then  it  will  be  certain,  that  after  being 
separated  a  few  days,  we  shall  meet  in  heaven,  to  part  no 
more  !  How  short  is  life  !  how  near  is  death !  How 
soon  we  shall  be  either  in  heaven  or  hell ! — Which,  O 
which  will  it  be  ?  Have  we  been  born  of  God — do  we 
possess  that  hohness,  '  without  which  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord  V  Nothing  but  repentance  for  sin,  true  love  to  God 
and  faith  in  Christ,  accompanied  with  a  holy  life,  can  give 
us  the  least  security  against  "  the  wrath  to  come."  O  let 
us  speedily  take  heed  to  ourselves,  lest  we  perish  eter- 
nally. 

In  the  latter  part  of  January,  1812,  an  opportunity  of 


36  MEMOIR  or 

a  passage  to  Calcutta  presenting  itself  at  Philadelphia,  and 
about  the  same  time,  another  at  Salem,  the  Prudential 
Committee  of  the  Board  resolved  to  embrace  them  in 
sending  out  their  missionaries. 

Mr.  Hall  was  ordained  at  Salem,  Mass.,  on  the  6th  of 
February,  with  his  brethren  and  colleagues  Messrs.  Nott, 
Rice,  Judson  and  Newell.  The  two  latter  of  these  sailed 
from  Salem  the  9th  of  February,  and  the  three  former 
sailed  from  Philadelphia  on  the  18th  of  the  same  month. 

The  fitting  out  and  departure  of  these  missionaries, 
the  first  fruits  of  the  American  churches,  to  the  heathen, 
was  a  season  of  deep  interest  to  the  Board  as  well  as  to 
their  missionaries.  In  regard  to  the  particular  field  of 
their  labor,  the  Prudential  Committee  in  their  instructions 
say,  "  From  the  best  views  which  we  have  been  able  to 
obtain,  our  desire  is,  that  the  seat  of  your  mission  should 
be  in  some  part  of  the  Burman  Empire.  After  your  ar- 
rival in  India,  however,  you  will  make  it  an  object  to 
avail  yourselves  of  information,  relating  to  that  empire, 
and  also  relating  to  other  parts  of  the  East ;  and  after  due 
deliberation,  you  will  be  at  your  discretion,  as  to  the  place 
where  you  make  your  station." 

The  Committee  close  their  interesting  letter  of  instruc- 
tions with  the  following  impressive  paragraph. — "  Dearly 
beloved  Brethren,  you  cannot  but  be  sensible  of  the  vast 
responsibility  under  w^hich  you  act.  You  are  made  a 
spectacle  to  God,  to  angels  and  to  men.  The  eyes  of 
the  friends  and  of  the  enemies  of  Christ  and  his  cause 
are  upon  you.  You  are  the  objects  of  the  prayers  and 
of  the  hopes  and  of  the  liberalities  of  many.  On  your 
conduct  in  your  mission,  incalculable  consequences,  both 


GORDON  HALL.  37 

to  the  Christian  and  to  the  pagan  world  are  depending. 
Be  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  be  faithful.  Count  not  even 
your  lives  dear  unto  yourselves,  so  that  you  may  finish 
your  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry  which  you  have 
received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God.  With  fervent  prayers  for  your  safety,  your 
welfare  and  your  success,  we  commend  you  to  God  and 
to  the  word  of  his  grace." 

After  a  short  visit  at  his  father's  house  in  Tolland, 
Mr.  Hall  hastened  to  Philadelphia  to  enter  upon  his  voy- 
age. From  that  place  he  wrote  to  his  parents  and  friends, 
Feb.  16th,  a  letter,  of  which  the  following  is  a  part : 

'^  Thus  far  the  Lord  hath  helped  me,  and 


blessed  be  his  name,  great  is  the  work  to  which  I  have 
put  my  hand.  Why  am  i,  a  most  unworthy  creature, 
thus  privileged  ? — I  am  no  less  insufficient  than  unworthy 
— unknown  scenes  are  before  me ;  but  he  who  hath  ap- 
pointed them  is  the  ever  blessed  God,  who  cannot  but  do 
right,  and  who  hath  given  assurance  that  those  who  trust 
in  him  shall  w^ant  no  good  thing.  O  my  beloved  friends, 
let  your  daily  prayer  ascend  to  God  for  me,  that  I  may 
do  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  make  full  proof  of  my  minis- 
try, and  be  found  faithful  even  unto  death. 

Since  we  have  parted,  the  question  frequently  oc- 
curs, when  shall  we  meet  again  ?  In  this  world  ?  That  is 
concealed  in  the  counsels  of  Heaven — to  us  it  is  altogeth- 
er uncertain.  My  thoughts  fly  onward  to  the  day  of 
judgment, — then  we  shall  meet.  I  strive  to  improve  the 
parting  scenes  through  which  I  have  passed,  in  prepara- 
4 


38  MEMOIR  OF 

tion  for  death  and  the  judgment — I  would  exhort  you  to 
do  the  same. 

Though  it  seems  not  to  be  the  will  of  God,  that  we 
should  dwell  together  and  enjoy  the  sweet  comforts 
which  flow  from  the  society  of  dear  parents,  and  children, 
and  brothers  and  sisters,  yet  he  is  willing  we  should  en- 
joy all  the  comforts  and  blessings,  which  the  blood  of 
Christ  has  purchased  for  the  guilty.  God  offers  himself 
for  our  Father,  his  Son,  for  our  Savior,  his  Spirit,  for  our 
Comforter,  and  his  kingdom  for  our  home.  Can  we  ask 
more  ?  O  let  us  accept  what  God  offers  us,  then  come 
what  will,  we  are  happy  forever.  That  this  may  be  our 
case,  shall  ever  be  the  prayer  of  your  affectionate  son  and 
brother. 


CHAPTER   II. 


Including  the  period,  prom  his  arrival  at  Calcutta 
to  his  leaving  cochin, 


The  importance  of  this  period,  as  including  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  first  mission  of  the  American  Board 
and  its  peculiar  difficulties  and  success,  would  of  itself 
render  it  worthy  of  a  detailed  account.  It  was  also  a  pe- 
riod in  which  Mr.  Hall's  character  was  specially  tried, 
and  its  great  principles  formed  and  developed.  In  the 
difficulties  through  which  he  was  called  to  pass,  he  ac- 
quired and  displayed  that  simple  spirit  of  obedience  and 
faith,  by  which  the  mission  was  carried  to  a  happy  issue. 
He  trusted  and  obeyed  his  master  in  view  of  the  command 
and  promise,  and  not  in  view  of  events  and  consequences. 
Had  he  conscientiously  regarded  the  latter,  the  mission 
must  have  been  thrice  at  least  abandoned.  At  each 
point  of  defeat,  by  obeying  the  plain  command,  and  com- 
mitting his  course  to  God,  the  mission  was  saved.  It  was 
this  simple  principle  of  obedience  and  faith  which  carried 
him  through  the  conflict,  and  which  left  him  in  perfect 
peace,  when  he  seemed  to  have  been  three  times  defeat- 


40  MEMOIR  OF 

ed.  The  history  of  Mr.  Hall  recorded  in  this  chapter, 
must  of  course  be  given  in  connexion  with  that  of  his 
brethren. 

Messrs.  Newell  and  Judson  arrived  at  Calcutta  on  the 
17th  of  June ; — Messrs.  Hall,  Nott  and  Rice,  on  the  8th  of 
Aug.  1812.  By  Christian  people  there,  of  different  de- 
nominations, they  were  received  in  a  manner  [the  most 
courteous  and  affectionate. 

Soon  after  their  arrival,  however,  Messrs.  Newell  and 
Judson  received  an  order  from  the  government,  request- 
ing them  to  return  to  this  country,  by  the  same  ship,  in 
which  they  came  out.*     But  through  the  kind  influence 

*  It  may  not  be  improper  here  to  state  that  the  difficulties 
experienced  by  these  missionaries,  did  not  arise  from  the  fact 
that  they  were  Americans.  The  same  difficulties  have  repeat- 
edly been  experienced  by  English  missionaries.  The  gener- 
al policy  of  the  East  India  Company  was  formed  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  mercantile  monopoly,  and  goes  to  exclude  (except- 
ing in  cases  of  connivance)  all  persons  fi-om  their  territories,  of 
whatever  profession,  not  licensed  by  the  Court  of  Directors  in 
England.  When  the  Charter  was  given  under  which  the 
Company's  government  was  then  conducted,  there  was  no 
provision  contemplated  for  the  religious  instruction  of  the  na- 
tives ;  and  when  the  Toleration  Act  was  passed,  the  British 
Parliament  did  not  probably  anticipate  that  their  dominions 
would  be  so  extensive,  or  that  Christians  would  he  disposed  to 
communicate  the  gospel  to  foreign  lands,  and  no  provision  was 
made  for  that  purpose. 

In  1813,  the  British  Parliament  renewed  the  charter  of  the 
East  India  Company.  After  application  was  made  for  its  re- 
newal, and  previous  to  its  being  obtained,  much  solicitude  was 
expressed  by  multitudes  of  the  subjects  of  the  crown,  that  pro- 
vision might  be  made  in  the  new  charter  for  the  admission 
of  Christian  teachers  among  the  natives  of  India.  To  obtain 
this  important  provision,  about  900  petitions,  signed  by  near 
half  a  million  of  persons  of  intelligence  and  respectability,  were 
presented  to  parliament.  These  petitions  were  successful,  Suf. 


GORDON    HALL.  41 

of  their  Christian  friends,  the  order  was  modified,  and 
liberty  granted  to  the  two  brethren,  to  depart  by  any  con- 
veyance that  might  offer,  to  any  place,  not  within  the  ju- 
risdiction of  the  East  India  Company.  It  then  became  a 
weighty  question,  to  what  place,  they  should  go.  They 
had  received  such  information  concerning  the  then  tumul- 
tuous and  revolutionary  state  of  the  Burman  Empire,  as 
to  deter  them  from  any  attempt  to  go  there. — China,  still 
farther  east,  they  supposed  to  be  absolutely  closed  against 
them.  Seeing  no  door  opened  or  likely  to  be  opened,  in 
countries  eastward  of  British  India,  they  had  only  to  turn 
their  eyes  westward.  While  in  this  state  of  anxious  sus- 
pense, they  received  letters  from  their  brethren,  who  sailed 
from  Philadelphia,  dated  at  the  Isle  of  France,  giving  intelli- 
gence that  the  governor  of  that  island  was  friendly  to 
missions,  and  was  very  desirous  of  having  missionaries 
stationed  there ;  and  also  on  the  neighboring  island  of 
Madagascar.  These  islands,  together  with  Bourbon  and 
Ceylon,  belonged  to  the  crown  of  Great  Britain,  and 
were  not  subjected  to  the  policy  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany, which  at  that  time  prevailed. 

On  the  4th  of  August,  Mr.  Newell  with  his  wife  em- 
barked for  the  Isle  of  France ;  it  was  then  his  expecta- 
tion that  Mr.  Judson  would  soon  follow  them. — Four 
days  after  his  departure,  Messrs.  Hall,  Nott  and  Rice  ar- 
rived at  Calcutta,  not  knowing  what  embarrassments  their 
brethren  had  experienced,  though  well  aware,  that  they 
were  probable,  and  that  their  only  hope,  in  gaining  a  resi- 

ficient  facilities  are  now  afforded  for  the  residence  of  Chris- 
tian teachers  in  any  part  of  the  East  India  Conjpany's  territo- 
ries. 

4* 


42  MEMOIR  OF 

dence,  was  in  the  sufferance  of  government.  After  going 
through  a  process  similar  to  that  to  which  Messrs.  Newell 
and  Judson  were  subjected,  they  came  to  a  similar  de- 
termination. They  were  however  detained  in  Calcutta, 
till  the  latter  part  of  November. 

This  interval  of  delay  was  marked  with  an  event, 
which  seemed  to  cast  a  new  cloud  over  the  mission,  as 
unexpected  as  it  was  strange.  Messrs.  Judson  and  Rice 
having  adopted  the  sentiments  of  the  Baptists,  accordingly 
applied  for  and  received  immersion,  at  the  hands  of  the 
Baptist  brethren  at  Serampore.  From  that  time,  they 
considered  themselves  no  longer  under  the  direction  of 
the  Board,  under  which  they  had  acted. 

Before  narrating  the  proceedings  of  Messrs.  Hall  and  Nott, 
it  is  proper  to  remark,  that  the  missionaries  seem  to  have 
parted  in  mutual  confidence  and  affection,  and  not  at  all 
discouraged  in  circumstances  so  unexpected  and  trying. — 
After  the  lapse  of  more  than  twenty  years,  it  may  now 
be  confidently  said,  that  the  apparent  hindrance  has  un- 
doubtedly promoted  the  furtherance  of  the  gospel.  By 
the  division  of  the  mission,  a  large  evangelical  body  of 
Christians  was  called  into  the  missionary  field  ; — a  mis- 
son  established  in  a  central  portion  of  the  eastern  world, 
in  which  faith  and  patience  have  been  signally  displayed 
and  blessed.  Both  denominations  concerned  may  now 
unite  in  expressions  of  gratitude,  that  God  has  blessed 
the  honest  intentions  of  both  divisions  of  the  first  Amer- 
ican Mission,  and  unitedly  disclaim  the  thought,  that,  by 
his  providential  dispensations,  he  has  sanctioned  the  pe- 
culiar opinions  of  either. 

Messrs.  Hall  and  Nott,  who  remained  under  the  di- 


GORDON    HALL.  43 

rection  of  the  Board,  made  as  early  arrangements  as  sick- 
ness would  permit,  for  their  intended  departure  to  the  Isle 
of  France.  So  complete  were  their  arrangements,  and  so 
near  the  expected  time  of  departure,  that  their  passage 
money  had  been  paid.  Unexpected  occurrences  howev- 
er detained  the  ship,  and  were  likely  to  detain  her  for 
some  weeks.  It  was  this  providential  occasion  which  led 
them  to  reclaim  and  recover  their  passage  money,  and 
which,  in  one  respect  at  least,  gave  them  opportunity  for 
reconsidering  their  plans,  with  increasing  knowledge. 
The  result  of  their  inquiries  and  reflections  was  an  appli- 
cation to  government,  on  the  17th  of  October,  for  leave  to 
go  to  Ceylon.  This  application,  they  then  understood, 
would  at  any  time  be  granted,  when  they  should  find  a 
vessel. 

It  was  about  this  time,  that  the  missionaries  became 
acquainted  with  the  arrival,  in  Bombay,  of  the  new  gov- 
ernor. Sir  Evan  Nepean,  and  with  his  character  as  one 
of  the  Vice  Presidents  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  and  a  friend  of  Christian  Missions.  After 
much  consideration  and  consultation,  and  after  recieving 
the  assurance  of  a  favorable  introduction  to  gentlemen  in 
Bombay,  they  resolved  to  make  the  attempt  to  establish 
a  mission  there. 

They  accordingly  made  application  to  the  Police  for 
a  general  passport,  *'  to  depart  on  the  ship  Commerce," 
which  they  received  with  no  less  surprise  than  gratitude 
to  God,  who  seemed,  at  length,  to  prosper  their  way. — 
They  proceeded  immediately  to  make  all  needful  arrange- 
ments, and  before  they  were  interrupted,  had  put  a  part 


44  MEMOIR    OF 

of  their  baggage  on  board,  and  had  paid  their  passage 
money. 

It  was  in  this  state  of  hope  and  progress  that  they 
were  summoned  to  the  Pohee  on  the  17th  of  November, 
and  were  served  with  a  government  order  for  their  being 
sent  to  England.  It  was  in  this  emergency  that  the  princi- 
ples o(  obedience  and  faith  seemed  to  have  been  fairly  call- 
ed forth,  which  God  finally  blessed,  in  the  establishment  of 
the  mission,  and  in  which,  if  the  mission  had  failed,  the  mis- 
sionaries could  not  have  been  put  to  shame.  Obedience 
and  faith  mdij  fail  of  accomplishing  the  particular  designs 
of  the  servants  of  God,  but  they  can  never  fail  of  yielding 
a  personal  reward,  or  of  advancing,  on  the  great  scale, 
the  cause  which  they  desire  to  serve. 

In  the  emergency  which  now  arose,  the  missionaries,  hav- 
ing made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  bring  their  case  before 
LordMintoin  person,  embraced  the  only  alternative  which 
remained.  In  their  last  extremity,  they  applied  to  the 
Captain  or  agent  of  the  Commerce,  for  leave  to  go  on 
board,  and  wait  the  result.  After  the  deepest  anxiety 
and  the  most  earnest  prayers,  this  leave  was  at  length  ob- 
tained ;  but  not  until  the  Captain  had  reported  the  mis- 
sionaries as  passengers  and  obtained  the  port  clearance  for 
his  ship.  They  went  on  board,  Friday  evening,  Novem- 
ber 20th,  expecting,  according  to  all  human  calculation, 
that  the  government  would  speedily  remove  them  to  the 
fleet ;  yet  assuring  themselves  in  their  course  by  the  pass- 
ports in  their  hands  and  by  their  higher  allegiance  to  their 
Lord  and  Master.^  For  many  days  every  circumstance 
increased  their  fears.  Before  they  moved  from  their  an- 
chorage, the  pilot  brought  news  on  board,  that  the  Police 


GORDON    HALL.  45 

had  been  making  ineffectual  search  for  them,  to  carry  them 
to  the  fleet.  The  missionaries  were  astonished  that  they 
were  not  sought  for  in  the  very  ship,  where  the  PoHce  had 
authorized  them  to  be.  On  learning  that  they  were  th.e  ob- 
jects of  pursuit,  the  missionaries  proceeded  to  make  their 
arrangements  for  leaving  Mrs.  Nott  in  India,  in  the  hope  of 
returning  from  England,  to  Avhich  it  now  seemed  inevitable 
that  they  must  go. 

On  reaching  Fuitah,  forty  miles  below  Calcutta,  their 
arrest  seemed  still  more  certain ;  for  there  they  saw,  at 
anchor,  la  belle  Creole,  and  learned  that  she  was  stoped 
by  government  for  having  missionaries  on  board.  Short- 
ly after,  a  ship's  boat  returned  from  the  shore,  with  an 
account,  that  Mrs.  Judson  had  landed  from  the  Creole, 
with  her  baggage,  her  husband  having  been  remanded  to 
Calcutta.  Still  the  Commerce  was  allowed  to  proceed 
down  the  river,  which  the  missionaries  could  only  explain 
on  the  supposition,  that  they  would  be  stopped  and  trans- 
shipped when  they  reached  the  fleet  at  Kedgeree. 

Their  anxiety  was  not  relieved,  till  the  29th  of  No- 
vember, when  to  their  great  joy  they  saw  the  homeward- 
bound  fleet  weigh  anchor  and  proceed  to  sea,  ten  miles 
ahead.  On  the  arrival  of  the  missionaries  at  Pandicherry, 
they  were  shown  the  Calcutta  papers,  with  their  names 
on  the  list  of  passengers  to  England,  on  the  fleet  which 
had  just  sailed. 

Mr.  Hall,  with  his  colleague,  Mr.  Nott,  arrived  at 
Bombay  February  11,  1813.  They  expected  to  touch 
at  Ceylon,  and  perhaps  remain  there.  But,  as  in  their 
passports  from  the  Bengal  police,  their  place  of  destination 
was  not  specified,  they  considered  themselves  at  Hberty 
to  proceed  to  Bombay  or  to  any  other  place. 


46  MEMOIR    OF 

On  their  arrival  at  Bombay,  they  immediately  found 
that  intelligence  unfavorable  to  them,  forwarded  from 
Calcutta,  had  previously  reached  Bombay,  accompanied 
with  an  expression  of  the  will  of  the  supreme  government, 
that  they  should  be  sent  to  England.  Under  these 
embarrassing  circumstances,  they  submitted  to  Sir  Evan 
Nepean,  governor  of  Bombay,  a  memorial,  stating  the  ob- 
ject for  which  they  came  to  India — the  patronage  under 
which  they  had  been  sent  forth, — giving  a  narrative  of 
their  proceedings  at  Calcutta, — explaining  the  misunder- 
standing which  had  arisen  between  them  and  the  govern- 
ment there,  stating  the  reasons  for  their  departing  for 
Bombay,  under  circumstances  so  liable  to  misconstruction, 
and  referring  their  case  to  the  well  known  clemency  and 
candor  of  the  governor.  This  memorial  was  kindly  re- 
ceived and  considered  by  Sir  Evan. 

Every  thing  in  relation  to  their  object  and  proceed- 
ings appeared  to  him  so  satisfactory,  that  he  not  only 
permitted  them  to  remain  for  the  present,  but  assured 
them  of  his  disposition  to  render  them  every  favor  in  his 
power ;  he  even  took  upon  himself  the  trouble  to  write  a 
private  letter  in  their  behalf,  to  the  governor  general  at 
Calcutta,  with  a  view  to  remove  the  unfavorable  im- 
pressions respecting  them,  which  had  been  made  on  his 
Lordship's  mind,  either  by  misrepresentations  or  unex- 
plained circumstances,  and  to  obtain  permission  for  them 
to  reside  in  Bombay. 

Sir  Evan's  kind  communication  appears  to  have  been 
successful  in  satisfying  the  governor  general's  mind,  in 
regard  to  the  character  and  proceedings  of  the  two  gen- 
tlemen.    But  intelligence  of  the  war  between  the  United 


GORDON    HALL.  47 

States  and  Great  Britain,  being  at  that  time  received, 
new  diiBculties  arose.  The  missionaries  were  informed 
that  though  the  governor  cherished  a  high  respect  for 
their  integrity  and  excellence  of  character,  he  felt  himself 
compelled  to  send  them  to  England.  Their  names  were 
actually  entered  at  the  marine  office,  as  passengers  on 
board  of  a  ship  to  sail  very  shortly. 

Under  these  distressing  circumstances  Messrs.  Hall 
and  Nott,  by  the  advice  of  their  friends,  presented  a  me- 
morial to  his  Excellency,  August  IS,  1813,  shewing  that 
their  mission  had  no  possible  connexion  with  the  war.— 
That  the  spirit  and  feelings  of  the  missionaries  may  be  seen, 
the  following  passages  are  extracted  : — . 

"  Right  Hon.  Sir, 

When  we  consider  that  both   English  and 


American  Christians  are  interested  in  our  success, — that 
much  time  and  money  have  been  already  expended  in 
our  enterprise,  and  that  much  more  must  be  expended,  if 
we  are  sent  from  this  place  ; — that  we  must  then  be  in 
uncertainty,  whether  we  shall  ever  be  allowed  to  preach 
to  the  destitute  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ ; — and 
especially  when  we  consider  the  command  of  that  Lord 
in  whom  we  all  hope,  and  whom  we  would  obey,  we 
feel  justified,  we  feel  compelled,  by  motives  which  we 
dare  not  resist,  to  entreat  your  Excellency's  favor. 

To  ourselves,  it  cannot  but  be  supposed,  that  to  fail 
in  our  object,  must  be  in  the  highest  degree  trying.  Our 
feelings  are  deeply'interested,  it  may  well  be  supposed,  in 
an  object  to  which  we  have  been  looking,  for  so  many 
years, — for  which  we  have  left  our  dearest  friends  and  our 
country  ; — an  object  to  which  we  are  conscientiously,  and 


48  MEMOIR    OF 

by  the  help  of  God,  unalterably  devoted, — in  which  the 
hearts  of  Christians  are  universally  engaged,  without 
distinction  of  country,  and  which  we  cannot  doubt,  is  under 

the  favorable   eye  of  our  Lord  and  Master. Your 

Excellency's  well  known  desire  for  promoting  Christian 
knowledge,  and  the  certainty  that  we  should  be,  in  future, 
as  really  under  the  direction  and  at  the  disposal  of  your 
Excellency  as  at  the  present  moment,  encourage  us  in  re- 
questing, that  we  may  be  allowed  to  remain,  at  least,  till 
it  may  be  learned  whether  there  will  be  a  'speedy  termi- 
nation of  the  unhappy  war." 

This  memorial  was  received  with  kindness,  by  Sir  Ev- 
an ;  he  consented  to  a  few  wrecks'  delay  in  sending  the  mis- 
sionaries to  England,  that  they  might  have  a  longer  time 
to  arrange  their  affairs,  for  departure,  but  gave  them  to 
understand  that  his  orders  from  Bengal  were  such,  that  he 
should  be  unable  to  allow  them  to  remain. 

About  the  middle  of  September  Messrs.  Hall  and  Nott 
received  communications  from  Rev.  Mr.  Thomson  of  Ma- 
drass  and  Mr.  Newell  who  was  then  on  the  island  of  Cey- 
lon, to  which  place  he  had  repaired  after  the  death  of  his 
wife,  at  the  Isle  of  France.  These  communications 
strongly  urged  their  going  to  Ceylon,  holding  out  very 
promising  encouragements  of  the  protection  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  that  island. 

After  prayerful  consideration,  the  missionaries  on  the 
22d  Sept.  submitted  their  communications  to  his  Excel- 
lency, Sir  Evan,  with  a  memorial,  in  which  they  say 

"  After  having  read  them,  we  beg  your  Excellency  to 
regard,  with  a  favorable  eye,  the  pure,  peaceful,  inof- 


GORDON    HALL.  49 

fensive  Christian  character  of  our  mission,  proved  incon- 
testably  by  our  instructions,  by  our  letters,  and  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  committee  of  British  gentlemen,  to  co-op- 
erate in  our  mission  ;  and  to  bestow  an  indulgent  consider- 
ation on  our  present  situation. — It  is  still  our  highest  wish 
to  remain  here,  and  render  ourselves  useful  as  instructors 
of  youth  and  preachers  of  the  gospel,  under  the  protec- 
tion of  your  excellency's  government,  where  the  spiritual 
miseries  of  thousands  call  so  loudly  for  the  blessings  of 
Christianity,  where  there  are  so  many  facilities  lor  diffu- 
sing these  blessings,  and  from  which  we  cannot  be  sent, 
without  occasioning  so  much  grief  to  numerous  Christians, 
and  so  much  discouragement  to  others,  who  are  desiring 
to  preach  Christ  in  pagan  lands.  It  is  only  therefore  in 
-the  last  resort,  and  with  the  hope  of  preventing  the  en- 
tire defeat  of  our  pious  attempt,  that  we  implore  your 
Excellency's  sanction  to  remove  ourselves  from  this  place 
to  Ceylon,  where  we  have  such  assurances  of  a  favorable 
reception,  where  we  cannot  but  be  under  the  superintend- 
ing eye  of  a  British  government,  and  where,  we  trust,  our 
conduct  will  be  unobjectionable  to  his  Excellency,  gov- 
ernor Brown  rigg." 

Soon  after  presenting  the  above  memorial,  the  mis- 
sionaries were  informed  by  a  friend,  that  Sir  Evan  was  in 
daily  expectation  of  a  letter  from  the  governor  general,  in 
reply  to  his  communication,  in  favor  of  the  missionaries 
staying  at  Bombay.  But  if  he  received  no  new  com- 
mands from  his  Lordship,  he  must  send  them  to  Eng- 
land by  the  next  ship.  And  that  he,  (Sir  Evan)  had 
thought  of  another  plan   for  them,   which  was,   if  the 

C should  arrive  in  season,  he  should  request  a  pas- 

5 


50  MEMOIR    OF 

sage  for  them  on  board  of  her  to  Ceylon,  which  would 
give  governor  Brownrigg  an  opportunity  to  take  such 
measures  in  regard  to  them,  as  he  might  think  proper. 

Sir  Evan  however  failed  in  his  application  for  a  passage 
for  them  to  Ceylon.  Under  these  inauspicious  circum- 
stances nothing  now  remained  but  for  them  to  prepare 
for  their  departure  for  England  on  board  the  ship  assign- 
ed them  by  government,  which  was  to  sail  in  a  short 
time. 

In  this  trying  situation,  the  question  was  seriously  and 
prayerfully  examined,  by  the  missionaries,  whether  faithful- 
ness to  Christ  and  the  cause  to  which  they  had  devoted 
themselves,  did  not  render  it  their  duty,  to  attempt  an  es- 
cape from  Bombay  without  the  knowledge  of  government, 
and  seek  the  protection  of  some  of  the  pagan  princes  on 
the  continent,  without  the  territory  of  the  East  India 
Company. 

*'  We  have  deliberately  and  in  the  fear  of  God,  (writes 
Mr.  Hall,  in  his  Journal,  Oct.  13,)  examined  the  mea- 
sure we  are  about  to  take,  and  as  far  as  possible  anticipat- 
ed every  thing  that  is  liable  to  result  from  such  an  at- 
tempt. Let  the  event  he  as  it  may,  we  are  conscious, 
that  if  necessary,  we  can  vindicate  the  principles  on  which 
we  act,  by  the  examples  and  precepts  of  the  gospel. 
When  we  look  forward  upon  such  an  attempt,  hunger 
and  thirst,  peculiar  exposure  to  sickness,  liability  to  utter 
failure,  the  sneers  of  the  multitude,  who  are  ignorant  of 
our  object,  and  the  censure  of  some  who  have  professed 
themselves  our  friends, — all  these  stare  us  full  in  the 
face  ;  but  blessed  be  God,  none  of  these  things  move  us  J' 

When  this  movement  was  on  the  point  of  being  at- 


GaRDON    HALL.  51 

tempted,  they  received  information  from  a  friend,  tliat  a 
native  vessel,  then  about  to  sail  for  Ceylon,  would  receive 
them  as  passengers,  if  ready  in  four  or  five  hours. 

This  communication  was  made  by  the  only  confidant 
of  their  plan  of  escape.  They  had  other  friends  on  whom 
they  relied  with  a  confidence  never  disappointed,  but  it 
was  resolved  not  even  to  consult  them  in  the  present  in- 
stance, lest  they  might  be  needlessly  involved  in  the  dif- 
ficulties likely  to  ensue.  One  friend,  however,  was  need- 
ful, and  such  an  one  divine  Providence  had  prepared  to 
act  an  important  part  in  founding  the  first  mission  of  the 
American  Board.  His  history  is  peculiarly  interesting 
and  instnictive,  and  deserves  on  this  account,  as  well  as 
his  usefulness  to  the  mission,  a  place  in  the  narrative. 

The  person  referred  to,  was  Lieut.  John  Wade,  a 
descendant  of  Field  Marshal  Wade  who  led  the  Royal 
Army  at  the  famous  battle  of  Preston  Pans,  aiyoung 
man  perhaps  of  twenty  four  years  of  age,  and  at  the  time 
the  Military  Aid  and  Secretary  to  the  Commander  in 
Chief  on  the  Bombay  Station.  The  missionaries  had  be- 
come acquainted  with  him  early  in  the  summer,  at  the 
house  of  their  leading  friend,  already  well  known  to  the 
American  public, — William  T.  Monsey,  Esq.,  now  Brit- 
ish Consul  at  Venice.  Mr.  Wade  took  immediate  pains 
to  cultivate  their  acquaintance  and  to  seek  their  aid  in  the 
establishment  of  his  religious  principles, — much  resembling 
that  young  man  of  whom  it  is  recorded — that  Jesus  ''  be- 
holding him,  loved  him  and  said,  one  thing  thou  lackest," 
but,  giving  in  the  result,  a  striking  and  beautiful  contrast 
to  that  melancholy  record.  One  obstacle  only  seemed  to 
hinder  him  from  following  the  Savior.     It  was  imaginary, 


52  MEMOIR    OF 

but  to  him  it  was  a  real  test  of  character,  which  he  fear- 
ed would  prove  him  wanting,  but  from  which,  in  the  end, 
he  came  forth  as  gold.  "  I  am  resolved,"  said  he  to  his 
friends,  ''  that  I  will  never  challenge  any  man  to  fight  a 
duel, — but  what  shall  I  do,  if  I  am  challenged  ?  I  can- 
not make  up  my  mind  not  to  fight,  if  I  am  challenged. 
On  this  point  the  young  officer  pondered  and  consulted 
long.  Day  after  day  and  week  after  week  he  pondered  and 
consulted — fearful  that  he  should  refuse  the  demand — 
still  hearing  the  voice — "  One  thing  thou  lackest,"  often 
and  severely  tempted  to  refuse  the  claim,  and  to  depart 
sorrowful,  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  must  be  bought  so 
dear.  Happily  the  Spirit  aided  the  struggle — and  he 
was  at  length  enabled  to  accept  the  condition,  which 
seemed  to  him  proposed  by  his  Lord  and  Savior.  The 
result  was,  not  only  a  fixed  and  settled  decision  on  the 
one  difficulty,  but  a  strength  and  boldness  and  consisten- 
cy and  beauty  of  Christian  character,  which  were  an  hon- 
or to  any  country  and  to  any  age.  This  character  was 
manifest,  not  only  in  his  general  life  and  conversation,  but 
in  the  difficult  duties,  no  longer  imaginary,  but  real,  to 
which  he  was  called.  He  was  thence  forward  ready  to 
hazard  property,  reputation,  prospects,  for  the  furtherance 
of  the  gospel,  and  to  meet  their  loss  with  meekness  and 
faith,  and  continued  until  his  lamented  death,  steadfast 
and  unmoveable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the 
Lord. 

Before  proceeding  to  notice  his  part  in  establishing 
the  mission,  his  own  history  may  be  briefly  closed.  Af- 
ter rendering  the  services  which  will  be  immediately  re- 
corded, he  was  called,  apparently  in  consequence,  to  suf- 


GORDON    HALL.  53 

fer  the  loss  of  part  of  his  emoluments,  and  to  be  traduced 
in  his  character.  These  trials  were  borne  with  patience 
and  with  profit,  and  in  the  language  of  the  37th  Psalm, 
to  which  he  had  turned  the  attention  of  the  missionaries 
in  their  adversities,  his  righteousness  ivas  brought  forth 
as  the  light,  and  his  judgment  as  the  noon-day.  In 
October  1814  he  embarked  for  England  with  many  desires 
and  plans  of  usefulness  to  India  and  the  world,  but  never 
more  to  set  his  feet  on  either  England  or  India.  He  em- 
ployed his  time  and  talents,  however,  as  one  ready  to 
meet  the  sudden  coming  of  his  Lord.  In  his  letter  to 
the  missionaries  from  the  Isle  of  France,  he  speaks  of 
conversation  with  the  passengers  on  their  religious  inter- 
ests— of  the  use  he  made  of  Baxter's  Call  and  religious 
tracts, — of  his  regret  at  not  having  Bibles  for  distribution, 
— of  attending  the  sick  and  dying,  and  of  the  children, 
who  came  daily  around  him  to  be  assisted  in  saying  their 
prayers.  "  1  trust,"  he  says,  in  conclusion,  "  that  you 
are  all  getting  on  well  at  Bombay,  your  schools  increas- 
ing, and  your  missionary  prospects  brightening.  May 
the  Great  God  be  with  you  and  bless  you."  The  voy- 
age was  prosperous  until  their  arrival  in  the  British  Chan- 
nel; — after  which,  at  dead  of  night,  the  ship  struck  on 
the  Bill  of  Portland,  and  was  lost  with  all  on  board,  ex- 
cept four  of  the  servants  and  sailors.  This  disaster 
brought  many  scenes  of  mourning  to  Bombay,  but  no  loss 
was  more  extensively  bewailed  than  that  of  the  excellent 
young  officer,  Lieut.  John  Wade. 

Such  a  friend, — thus  preparing,   as  is  now  manifest, 
for  a  youthful  death,  was  raised  up  by   divine  grace,  to 
bear  an  important  part  in  establishing  the  first  mission  of 
5* 


54  MEMOIR    OF 

the  American  Board.  He  was  prepared  to  act  in  per- 
fect concert  with  the  missionaries,  in  the  simple  spirit  of 
obedience  and  faith,  rather  than  in  view  of  events  and 
consequences.  He  volunteered  his  services,  which  the 
missionaries  would  probably  have  declined  to  ask,  justifi- 
ed the  measure  as  right,  notwithstanding  the  prospect  of 
failure,  and  declared  himself  willing  to  aid  them,  at  all 
hazards. 

The  result  was  his  proposal  to  the  missionaries  to  es- 
cape to  Ceylon  in  the  vessel  aboved  named.  He  made 
all  the  necessary  arrangements, — gave  up  his  own  ser- 
vant to  assist  them  on  their  voyage,  and  went  with  them, 
in  a  small  boat,  to  see  them  safe  on  board  the  country 
vessel,  at  the  mouth  of  the  harbor.  After  their  depart- 
ure, he  prepared  and  circulated  a  defence  of  their  con- 
duct, in  leaving  as  they  did. 

Thus  seemed  to  end  the  Bombay  mission,  and  the 
missionaries  departed,  cheered  with  the  hope,  tliat  if  no  way 
of  return  could  be  opened,  they  would  find  and  secure  a 
useful  field  of  labor  on  the  island  of  Ceylon. 

From  Mr.  Hall's  journal  during  this  voyage,  the  fol- 
lowing passages  are  extracted  as  specimens  of  the  state  of 
his  mind  on  that  trying  occasion. 

"  Oct.  23. In  reflecting  on  our  present  situation, 

I  have  fears  lest  we  have  sinned  in  leaving  Bombay  as  we 
have  ; — perhaps  we  ought  to  have  waited  and  trusted  in 
the  Lord  to  deliver  us  in  his  own  way. — Yet  after  all,  I 
know  not  why  it  was  not  as  right  for  us  to  escape  firom 
Bombay,  as  it  was  for  Paul  to  escape  from  Damascus. — 


GORDON    HALL.  55 

O  that  we  may  acknowledge  God  in  all  our  ways,  that  he 
may  dh'ect  our  steps ; — We  have  great  reason  to  think 
that  the  vessel  will  not  go  to  Ceylon,  as  we  at  first  ex- 
pected.— What  will  be  our  condition  we  know  not.  We 
thought  when  the  Lord  delivered  us  from  Bombay,  we 
should  find  no  further  difficulties  in  getting  to  Ceylon. — 
But  we  are  to  expect  fresh  trials. — It  is  much  more  im- 
portant to  be  prepared  for  trials  than  to  have  the  best 
prospect  of  escaping  them. — Meditated  with  sweet  de- 
light on  Isa.  41 :  10.  I  feel  this  passage  to  be  more  pre- 
cious than  all  riches,  conveniences,  friends,  yea  than  a 
thousand  worlds." 

The  promise  which  Mr.  Hall  was  enabled  thus  to  ap- 
propriate to  himself,  and  which  he  cherished  of  such  ines- 
timable value,  did  not  fail  him.  If  he  seemed  to  hear 
the  assurance  as  if  spoken  to  himself — "  Fear  thou  not, 
for  I  am  with  thee,  be  not  dismayed,  for  I  am  thy  God  ;  I 
will  strengthen  thee,  yea  I  will  help  thee,  yea  I  will  up- 
hold thee  with  the  right  hand  of  my  righteousness  ;"  that 
assurance  seemed  to  be  fulfilled  in  the  progress  of  events. 
A  kind  providence  had  already  made  provisions  for  the 
new  difficulties  in  which  the  missionaries  found  themselves, 
as  intimated  in  the  last  extract  from  Mr.  Hall's  journal. 

As  they  were  just  ready  to  leave  the  small  boat  to  go 
on  board  the  native  vessel  at  the  mouth  of  the  Harbor  at 
Bombay,  their  kind  friend  Mr.  Wade  suddenly  thought 
of  the  possibihty  of  their  landing  on  the  coast,  and  finding 
a  scrap  of  paper  just  large  enough  for  the  purpose,  wrote 
with  his  pencil  to  an  officer  on  the  coast  to  whom  he  had 
formerly  named  the  missionaries, — "  Take  good  care  of 
my  friends  Hall  and  Nott ;"  a  line  which  in  the  event 


56 


MEMOIR    OF 


proved  of  essential  service  to  their  comfort  and  pro- 
gress. 

They  had  not  been  long  at  sea  before  they  learned 
that  their  arrangements  had  been  made  in  entire  misun- 
derstanding of  the  destination  of  the  vessel,  which  was 
bound  to  (^uilon,  on  the  coast,  and  not  to  Ceylon;  and 
that  the  mariners  were  utterly  incapable  of  the  naviga- 
tion across  the  gulf  of  Manaar.  In  this  emergency  they 
found  themselves  without  funds  and  without  friends. — 
Happily  their  "  scrap,''  was  thought  of,  and  it  proved  the 
means  of  furnishing  them  with  both,  and  withal  prepared 
the  way  for  their  return,  with  strong  recommendations  in 
their  favor,  from  the  authorities  down  the  coast.  Having 
persuaded  the  boatmen  to  wait  for  them  a  few  hours,  they 
landed  at  Cannamore,  were  kindly  received  by  Col. 
Lockhart,  the  Commandant,  who  assisted  them  in  nego- 
tiating a  draught  on  Bombay,  and  gave  them  a  favorable 
introduction  to  Cochin.  As  they  were  about  to  go  on 
shore,  Mr.  Hall  remarked  to  his  colleague — "  God  is  now 
going  to  reveal  his  will  concerning  us,  and  we  shall  know, 
as  every  successive  event  occurs,  that  it  has  been  wisely 
ordered  by  a  wise  and  good  God."  As  it  proved,  the 
events  of  the  day  were  exceedingly  encouraging. 

They  proceeded  on  their  voyage,  and  on  the  30th 
Oct.,  they  landed  at  Cochin.  "  We  had  great  reason  to 
fear,"  says  Mr.  Hall,  ''  that  from  the  informal  manner 
in  which  w^e  left  Bombay,  we  should  be  interrupted  by 
the  English  magistrate  and  sent  back.  But  it  pleased 
God  to  favor  us  beyond  what  we  expected,  and  where  we 
least  expected  it.  The  magistrate  received  us  with  great 
kindness,  and  provided  us  gratuitous  accommodations. — 


GORDON    HALL. 


57 


We  wondered  at  this  mercy  of  God,  kneeled  down  and 
blessed  his  name,  confessing  our  sins  in  ever  having  dis- 
trusted him. 

While  Messrs.  Hall  and  Nott  were  detained  at  Co- 
chin seeking  and  waiting  for  a  passage  to  Ceylon,  they 
embraced  the  favorable  opportunity  presented  in  visiting 
the  Jews  and  Syrian  Christians,  in  that  neighborhood. 

On  the  5th  of  November,  Mr.  Hall  thus  writes  in  his 

journal. "  We  had  this   day  expected  to  leave  for 

Ceylon  to-morrow  morning ;  but  God  has  been  pleased 
suddenly  to  blast  our  expectations. — About  7  o'clock,  P. 
M.,  our  kind  host  informed  us,  that  he  was  sorry  to  say, 
that  he  had  received  an  order  from  Bombay,,  requiring 
him  to  see  that  we  were  returned  to  that  place  by  the  first 

opportunity. We  were  of  course  under  the   guard  of 

police  officers ;  but  the  whole  business  was  conducted  by 
the  magistrate  with  the  utmost  tenderness  and  respect. — 
Thus  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  disappoint  us. — O  may  it 
humble  my  soul  and  fit  me  better  to  serve  him  ! — Thanks 
unto  God,  none  of  these  things  move  me  !  I  find  pleas- 
ure in  the  reflection,  that  God  has  ordered  this  for  some 
wise  and  good  end  ; — he  breaks  up  our  plans,  only  that 
he  may  accomplish  his  otvn,  tvhich  are  infinitely  bet' 
terr 


CHAPTER  III. 


INCLUDING  THE  PERIOD  FROM  HIS  LEAVING  COCHIN  TO 
THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  MISSION  IN  BOMBAY. 


It  was  indeed  so,  as  Mr.  Hall  believed.  God  broke 
up  the  'plans  of  the  missionaries,  that  he  might  accomplish 
his  own,  which  ivere  infinitely  better.  The  missionaries 
returned  to  Bombay  in  this  confidence  ;  not  ashamed,  but 
believing  that  God  would  order  their  course  well.  They 
saw  by  degrees  His  plan  developed,  and  adored  his  wis- 
dom, which  overruled  their  mistakes  and  ignorance  to  the 
furtherance  of  his  cause.  But  they  had  still  other  diffi- 
culties to  meet,  more  trying  than  any  which  had  preceded, 
amidst  which  they  were  favored  with  new  evidences  of 
divine  care. 

On  their  arrival  at  Bombay,  after  an  absence  of  about 
six  weeks,  they  saw  none  but  signs  of  defeat.  They  were 
informed  that  their  departure  had  been  highly  displeasing 
to  the  governor,  and  was  by  him  considered  derogatory  to 
their  character  as  gentlemen,  as  well  as  ministers  of  the 
gospel, — that  the  resolution  to  send  them  to  England  by 
the  next  ship  might  be  considered  as  irrevocable,  and  that 


MEMOIR  OF  GORDON  HALL.  59 

Mrs.  Nott  had  been  saved  from  being  sent  to  England  in 
the  Carmarthen*  only  by  the  opinion  of  the  governor's 
physician,  that  her  health  was  insufficient.  In  correspon- 
dence with  this  unpleasant  information,  they  were  detain- 
ed on  board  ship,  in  the  harbor.  In  these  circumstances, 
mainly  to  set  their  own  conduct  in  its  true  light,  they  pre- 
pared a  memorial,  dated  Bombay  Harbor,  on  board  the 
Hon.  Company's  Cruiser  Ternate,  Dec.  4,  1813,  from 
which  the  following  extracts  are  taken. — After  having 
met  and  refuted  the  unfounded  report,  in  circulation,  that 
they  had  violated  the  obUgations  of  a  parole,  and  present- 
ing to  His  Excellency  the  reasons  why  they  supposed 
themselves  as  much  at  liberty  when  they  left  Bombay  as 
when  they  first  arrived  there,  the  missionaries  say : 

"  Long  before  we  were  ordained  to  the  gospel  minis- 
try, it  became  with  us  a  solemn  inquiry,  in  what  part  of 
the  world  it  was  the  will  of  Christ  we  should  preach  his 
gospel.  In  Christian  countries  we  saw  thousands  of  min- 
isters, bibles  and  other  religious  books,  to  guide  immortal 

souls  to  everlasting  life. We  looked  upon  the  heathen, 

and  alas !  though  so  many  ages  had  passed  away,  three 
fourths  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  globe  had  not  been  told 
that  Jesus  had  tasted  death  for  every  man.  We  saw 
-them  following  their  fathers,  in  successive  millions,  to 
etesmal  death. — The  view  was  overwhelming. — The  con- 
viction of  our  own  duty  was  clear  as  noon  ;  and  our  de- 
sire was  ardent,  to  bear  to  the  dying  heathen,  the  glad 
tidings  of  great  joy — to  declare  to  them  Him  who  had 

*  The  ship  on  board  of  which  the  government  had  ordered 
them  to  be  sent  to  England. 


60  MEMOIR    OF 

said,  Look  unto  me  and  he  ye  saved,  all  ye  ends  of  the 
earth  ;  and  who,  after  he  had  brought  from  the  grave  the 
body  crucified  for  men,  said.  Go — teach  all  nations — jHe 
that  believeth  shall  be  saved,  and  he  that  believeth  not 

shall  be  damned. We  were  standing  on  heathen 

ground. — We  were  surrounded  by  immortal  beings  pol- 
luted by  idolatry,  dead  in  sin  and  exposed  to  hell.  There 
was  not  one  messenger  to  a  million  among  all  the  idola- 
ters of  India,  to  preach  Jesus  to  them.  There  was  enough 
before  our  eyes  to  convince  us,  that  the  command  of 
Christ  to  teach  all  nations,  had  not  been  thoroughly  ful- 
filled, and  we  knew  that  it  had  never  been  revoked. — We 
had  for  years  been  preparing  ;  and  we  had  come  to  this 
country,  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  obey  this  command. 
But  we  were  now  called  upon  to  relinquish  the  purpose 
which  had  been  so  long  conceived, — to  abandon  the  work 
which  we  had  been  so  long  preparing ;  and  to  depart,  not 
only  from  the  particular  field  which  we  had  entered,  but 
from  the  heathen  altogether. — We  were  commanded  by 
a  government  we  reverenced,  a  government  exalted,  as 
an  enlightened  and  a  Christian  government,  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth, — a  government,  under  which  Chris- 
tian people  have  been  active,  beyond  a  parallel  in  mod- 
em ages,  in  their  efforts  for  the  universal  diffusion  of 
Christian  knowledge  ;  and,  what  was  peculiarly  distress- 
ing, your  excellency^ had  considered  it  your  official  duty 
to  execute  upon  us  orders,  which  would  remove  us  from 
this  field  white  already  for  the  harvest.^' 

"  Thus  situated,  what  could  we  ?  as  ministers  of 
Christ,  what  ought  we  to  have  done  ?  The  miseries  of 
the  heathen  were  before  us, — the  command  of  Christ  was 


GORDON    HALL.  61 

in  full  force. — We  had  hoped  and  prayed  and  waited — 
till  almost  the  day  on  which  the  orders  for  our  going 
were  to  be  executed,  our  work  defeated  and  our  prospect  of 
preaching  destroyed.  We  ask  again,  what  could  we, — 
we  appeal  to  your  Christian  feelings,  what  ought  we  to 
have  done  ?  That  the  gospel  should  be  preached  to  these 
heathen,  we  knew  was  according  to  the  will  of  Christ.  If 
by  any  means  we  could  do  this,  though  we  were  forbid- 
den, by  government,  we  thought  (we  say  it  with  all  possi- 
ble deference)  that  we  ought  to  obey  God,  rather  than 
man, 

"  There  did  seem  to  be  a  way  authorized  by  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  which,  though  doubtful  in  its  Issue,  furnished, 
we  thought,  considerable  prospect  of  success.  It  was  to 
escape  and  reach  Ceylon,  where  we  had  been  assured  of 
protection  and  encouragement.  Paul  and  Barnabas  es- 
caped from  Thessalonica  ;  and  again  Paul  was  let  down  in 
a  basket  by  the  wall  of  Damascus,  while  he  knew  that 
the  highest  civil  authority  in  the  city,  was  waiting  to  ap- 
prehend him. 

"  We  stand  far  behind  apostles,  those  venerable  mes- 
sengers of  the  Lord  ;  but  though  far  behind  them,  yet  as 
ministers  of  the  same  Lord,  we  feel  bound  in  duty,  to 
plead  their  example,  especially  when  we  consider  our- 
selves, if  prevented  from  doing  our  work  in  one  city,  un- 
der a  command  of  our  Lord  to  flee  to  another.  This  we 
attemped,  but  without  success  ;  and  for  this  attempt,  we 
now  stand  so  highly  impeached. 

"  Amidst  the  distress  which  unavoidably  results  from 
the  imputation  of  guilt,  it  affords  us  consolation  to  reflect, 
that  until  we  left  Bombay,  our  characters,  by  a  fair  testi- 
6 


62  MEMOIR    OF 

mony,  both  here  and  at  Calcutta,  stood  unimpeached.  If 
this  single  act  does  really  bring  guilt  upon  our  souls,  if  it 
does  justly  destroy  the  confidence,  previously  reposed  in 
our  characters,  how  can  we  justify  apostles  and  others,  of 
whom  the  world  was  not  worthy,  who  in  like  manner 
fled  from  city  to  city,  rather  than  abandon  their  work  ? 

"Such,  Right  Hon.  Sir,  is  the  statement  which  we  have 
thought  it  our  duty  to  submit  to  your  serious  considera- 
tion. We  should  be  happy  indeed,  should  it  remove 
from  our  characters  the  imputation  of  guilt.  Confident 
as  we  are  of  none  other,  than  the  best  intentions,  we  most 
earnestly  hope  and  anxiously  desire  it  may,  and  pray 
that  the  time  may  not  be  distant,  when  we  shall  be  freed  from 
the  painful  duty  of  vindicating  ourselves,  and  when  we 
shall  enter  with  joy  upon  that  work,  for  which  we  are  lit- 
erally strangers  and  pilgrims,  and  have  no  certain  dwell- 
ing place.  But  the  matter  rests  with  God.  On  him  we 
will  endeavour  quietly  and  patiently  to  wait, — to  him  w^e 
will  look  to  bear  us  through  our  present  trials, — to  pub- 
lish his  own  gospel  to  the  dying  heathen,  and  to  honor 
his  dishonored  Son  among  the  nations." 

It  was  some  time  after  this  defence,  and  after  the 
missionaries  had  been  confined  to  the  ship  in  the  harbor 
ten  days,  that  the  first  propositions  were  made  to  them 
for  leaving  the  ship. — Those  propositions  were  a  severe 
trial  of  the  principle  on  which  they  had  left  Bombay,  viz. 
That  they  had  a  just  right  to  make  use  of  all  the  means 
of  escape  which  Providence  might  put  in  their  power. — 
By  this  principle  they  determined  to  abide.  On  being 
brought  to  the  police  office  on  Saturday,  December  4th, 
they  found  prepared  for  them  a  form  of  a  bond,  in  the 


GORDON    HALL.  63 

sum  of  4000  rupees,  by  which  they  were  to  bind  them- 
selves, with  a  sponsor,  not  to  leave  the  Island  of  Bom- 
bay, without  permission.  This  proposition  being  declia- 
ed,  it  was  then  proposed,  that  they  should  give  their  pa- 
role to  the  same  effect.  This  also  was  declined  ;  and  on 
the  same  principles  a  third,  viz. — that  they  should  give 
their  parole,  that  they  would  not  leave  until  Blonday 
morning. — After  declining  all  propositions,  they  were  re- 
turned to  the  ship. 

The  next  day  they  were  sent  for  again  to  the  police 
office, — they  were  informed  by  the  chief  cfficer  and  their 
well  known  friend  Lieut.  Wade,  that  their  memorial  had 
been  kindly  received  by  the  governor,  though  he  still 
considered  their  conduct  blameworthy.  They  were  then 
directed  to  take  up  their  residence  in  the  admiralty  house, 
not  to  leave  the  Island  without  application  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  to  be  ready  to  sail  for  England  in  the  next 
ship. 

In  order  to  a  just  view  of  that  divine  care  which  even- 
tually established  the  mission, — which  met  the  faith  of 
Mr.  Hall,  as  he  expressed  it  on  his  voyage  down  the 
coast, — which  strengthened  and  helped  him,  it  is  necessary, 
before  proceeding  to  an  account  of  the  next  deliverance, 
to  refer  to  providential  arrangements,  which  had  been 
made  long  before.  A  month  previous  to  their  escape 
down  the  coast,  they  had  received  their  first  letters  from 
America,  since  their  departure  in  February,  1812.  Those 
letters  informed  them  of  an  appointment,  by  the  Board,  of 
a  Corresponding  Committee  at  Calcutta.  The  mission- 
aries wrote  immediately  to  that  Committee,  particularly 
requesting  their  good  offices  on  the  arrival  of  Lord  Moira, 


64  MEMOIR  OP 

who  was  daily  expected,  as  governor  general  of  India. 
Letters  to  the  same  effect  were  written  also  to  Calcutta 
by  their  friends  in  Bombay,  and  others  to  Lord  Moira's 
suite,  intended  to  meet  him  at  Madras.  No  returns  were 
received  to  these  letters  previously  to  the  sailing  of  the 
Carmarthen,  and  the  missionaries  took  the  only  alterna- 
tive of  a  voyage  to  England,  by  their  attempt  to  escape  to 
Ceylon.  In  that  attempt,  as  is  now  seen,  they  were  de- 
feated, in  order  to  their  ultimate  and  highest  success.  In 
the  language  of  Mr.  Hall  already  quoted,  "  God  broke 
up  their  plans,  that  he  might  accomplish  his  own,  which 
were  infinitely  better.'*  While  the  missionaries  were  at- 
tempting to  reach  Ceylon,  and  again  while  they  were  re- 
turning under  arrest,  with  every  prospect  of  being  sent  to 
England,  measures  were  in  train  at  Calcutta,  which 
were  to  issue  in  the  estabhshment  of  their  mission  at 
Bombay.  There  too,  was  faith,  like  that  which,  as 
has  been  seen,  actuated  Mr.  Hall.  While  the  mission- 
aries were  pressing  through  their  difficulties  in  the  month 
of  October,  the  committee  were  laboring  in  Calcutta  in 
the  spirit,  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thomason  thus  expresses: — 
"  We  are  deeply  concerned  in  all  your  movements,  and 
shall  feel  most  happy,  and  thankful  to  God,  if  any  thing 
should  arise  favorable  to  all  our  desires.  It  will  be  from 
Him.  Vain  is  the  help  of  man." — "We  look  above  coun- 
cils and  governors  in  this  matter.  We  have  a  gracious 
Head,  who  is  not  unmindful  of  his  church.  To  Him 
let  us  commit  the  matter,  in  faith  and  prayer." 

On  the  19th  November,  while  the  missionaries  were 
retracing  their  way  to  Bombay,  a  third  letter  was  dis- 
patched from  Mr.  Thomason,  informing  them  "  of  a  fa- 


GORDON    HALL.  65 

vorable  intimation  from  government,  which  granted  all 
that  they  requested."  This  communication  was  received 
on  the  10th  December ;  and  on  the  13th,  after  waiting  a 
day  or  two  for  another  letter,  the  missionaries  sent  to  the 
governor  the  following  note,  enclosing  their  communica- 
tions from  Calcutta. 
"  Right  Hon.  Sir, 

Having  always  been  convinced,  that  the  resolution  to 
send  us  from  this  country,  emanated  solely  from  the  or- 
ders of  the  supreme  government,  and  not  from  the  dispo- 
sition of  your  Excellency,  which  we  know  to  be  friendly 
to  the  evangelical  object  of  our  mission,  and  having  re- 
ceived letters  from  Calcutta,  evincing  a  change  of  senti- 
ment, in  the  late  governor  general,  and  the  conviction  of 
Lord  Moira,  the  present  governor  general,  "  that  our  in- 
tentions are  to  do  good,  and  that  no  conceivable  public  in- 
jury can  arise  from  our  staying ;"  and  ^'  that  his  lordship 
spoke  very  decidedly  about  our  being  allowed  to  stay," 
we  beg  leave  to  submit  to  your  perusal  the  enclosed  let- 
ters, addressed  to  us  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Thomason,  a 
most  respectable  minister  of  the  Church  of  England,  resident 
at  Calcutta.  We  trust  that  your  Excellency  will  consider 
these  letters  as  containing  decisive  evidence  of  the  favora- 
ble inclinations  of  Lords  Minto  and  Moira  in  regard  to 
our  present  circumstances  and  future  views,  and  that  with 
this  proof  of  the  light  in  which  our  mission  is  now  regard- 
ed by  the  supreme  British  authority  in  India,  your  Ex- 
cellency will  have  no  difficulty  in  permitting  us  to  re- 
main in  this  place. 

It  is  with  inexpressible  satisfaction,  that  we  are  ena- 
bled by  a  kind  Providence,  to  present  these  communica- 
6* 


66 


MEMOIR  OF 


tions  to  your  Excellency,  at  this  very  interesting  mo- 
ment." 

On  the  16th  they  were  informed  that  as  the  governor 
was  still  under  positive  orders  from  the  supreme  govern- 
ment to  send  them  to  England,  and  that  as  no  reversal  of 
these  orders  had  heen  received,  they  must  be  obeyed. — 
On  the  20th  they  received  official  notice,  that  a  passage 
was  provided  for  them  to  England,  on  a  ship  to  sail  the 
22d. 

About  this  time,  the  following  thoughts  are  found  in 
Mr.  Hall's  private  journal. — "  Thus  it  has  pleased  God 
again  to  plunge  us  into  darkness. — I  think  I  experience 
the  fulfilment  of  that  promise,  1  will  he  with  thee  in  trou- 
ble. Such  a  promise  seems  enough  to  make  troubles 
desirable.  I  have  the  greatest  reason  to  praise  God,  for 
all  the  trials  he  has  laid  upon  me.  On  the  whole,  this 
time  of  trouble  has  been  to  me  a  time  of  more  than  or- 
dinary enjoyment ; — though  sometimes  it  has  induc- 
ed fatigue  and  anxieties  which  have  rather  stupified  my 

affections  and   depressed    my  mind. 1  find   great 

comfort  in  meditating  on  the  trial  of  faith  which  God  al- 
lots to  his  children. Anxious  to  know  what  I  ought 

to  do,  whether  to  address  the  governor  again,  or  to  attempt 
a  second  escape,  or  to  wait  quietly  and  see  whether  the 
Lord  will  interpose  and  deliver  us,  in  some  other  way. — 
I  think  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  do  God's  will,  if  I  could 
but  know  it. Our  circumstances  demand  much  pray- 
er. Sometimes  I  feel  as  though  I  could  fill  my  mouth  with 
arguments  with  God,  for  direction  and  deliverance.  Call- 
ing to  mind  past  dispensations,  I  am  sometimes  ready  to 


GORDON    HALL.  67 

say,  God  will  yet  deliver  us. It  is  trying  to  think  of 

the  failure  of  our  mission,  but  it  is  a  blessed  reflection, 
that  God  will  not  defeat  our  plans,  unless  to  execute  a 
better  one  of  his  own. — The  better  the  plan,  the  more 
desirable  it  should  be  executed,  therefore  in   God  will  I 

confide. This  evening  endeavored  to  divest  myself  of 

all  selfish  and  unholy  emotions,  and  write  a  farewell  ad- 
dress to  the  governor,  with  all  possible  seriousness  and 
solemnity." 

The  following  address  was  submitted  to  his  Excellen- 
cy on  the  20th  December.  It  was  most  obviously  de- 
signed by  the  missionaries  as  a  personal  address,  and  not 
to  be  laid  before  the  council,  unless  the  governor  should 
see  fit  to  do  so.  It  is  not  known  however  that  the  mis- 
sionaries regretted  that  his  Excellency  saw  fit  to  lay  it  be- 
fore his  council.  In  this  and  in  the  preceding  memorials, 
whatever  of  blame  or  censure,  the  memoriahsts  may  seem 
to  have  attached  to  Sir  Evan  Nepean,  was  meant  to  ap- 
ply to  that  system  of  measures  adopted  by  the  East  In- 
dia Company  and  the  Bengal  Government,  and  not  to 
Sir  Evan  himself;  for,  from  first  to  last,  he  appears  to 
have  been  favorably  disposed  towards  the  missionaries. 

"  Right  Hon.  Sir, 

We  understand  that  the  formal  arrangements  for  our 
being  transported  to  England  are  now  made.  At  this 
decisive  moment,  we  beg  to  submit  to  your  Excellency 
the  following  considerations. 

That  exercise  of  civil  authority,  which  in  a  manner 
so  conspicuous  and  determined  is  about  to  prohibit  two 


68  MEMOIR  OF 

ministers  of  Christ  from  preaching  his  gospel  to  the 
heathen,  can  be  of  no  ordinary  consequence,  especially  at 
the  present  moment,  when  the  Christian  public,  in  Eng- 
land and  America  are  waiting,  with  pious  solicitude,  to  hear 
how  the  religion  of  the  Bible  is  welcomed  and  encour- 
aged among  the  pagans  in  this  country.  Our  case  has 
had  so  full  and  conspicuous  a  trial,  that  its  final  decision 
may  serve  as  a  specimen,  by  which  the  friends  of  reli- 
gion may  learn  what  is  likely  to  befal  those  evangelical 
missions  to  India,  which  they  are  laboring  to  establish  and 
support,  by  their  prayers  and  by  their  substance. 

Had  the  decision  been  favorable,  it  would  have  en- 
couraged the  hearts  of  thousands  to  increase  their  exer- 
tions for  the  enlargement  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom ; 
it  would  have  brought  thanksgiving  to  God  and  blessings 
to  the  heathen.  But  if  the  decision  must  be  unfavora- 
ble, it  will  tend  to  deject  the  hearts  of  Christians  ;  it  will 
cast  a  new  cloud  of  darkness  over  this  heathen  land,  and 
discourage  many  from  attempting  to  rescue  the  poor 
pagans  from  the  doom,  which  awaits  idolaters.  This  mo- 
mentous decision.  Right  Hon.  Sir,  rests  with  you. 

Now  we  would  solemnly  appeal  to  your  Excellency's 
conscience,  and  ask  ;  does  not  your  Excellency  believe 
that  it  is  the  will  of  Christ,  that  his  gospel  should  be 
preached  to  these  heathen  ?  Do  you  not  believe  that  we 
have  given  credible  testimony,  that  we  are  ministers  of 
Christ,  and  have  come  to  this  country  to  preach  his  gos- 
pel ?  and  would  not  prohibiting  .us  from  preaching  to  the 
heathen  here,  be  a  known  resistance  of  his  will  ?  If  your 
Excellency  finally  exerts  civil  authority  to  compel  us 
from  this  heathen  land,  what  can  it  be  but  a  decided  op- 


GORDON  HALL.  69 

position  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel  among  those  immor- 
tal beings,  whom  God  has  placed  under  your  Excellen- 
cy's government  ? Can  you,  Right  Hon.  Sir, 

make  it  appear  otherwise  to  your  own  conscience,  to  that 
Christian  public,  who  must  be  judges  in  this  case,  but  es- 
pecially, can  you  justify  such  an  exercise  of  power  to 
your  God  and  final  Judge  ? 

Your  Excellency  has  been  pleased  to  say,  that  it  is 
your  duty  to  send  us  to  England,  because  you  have  re- 
ceived  orders  from   the  supreme  government  so  to  do. 

But,  Right  Hon.  Sir, xvere  it  even  admitted 

that  whatever  is  ordered  by  a  superior  authority  is  right 
to  be  done,  would  not  the  case  stand  thus :  Several 
months  ago,  your  Excellency  received  from  the  supreme 
government  positive  orders  to  send  us  to  England  ;  but 
you  repeatedly  expressed  a  deep  regret,  that  you  were 
obliged  to  execute  such  orders  upon  us.  But  a  few  days 
since,  we  had  the  happiness  to  present  to  your  Excellen- 
cy such  communications  from  Bengal,  as  were  acknow- 
ledged to  evince  such  a  change  in  the  mind  of  Lord  Min- 
to,  as  that  he  was  willing  we  should  remain  in  the  coun- 
try, and  that  Lord  Moira  was  also  favorable  to  our  stay-^ 
ing.  May  not  your  Excellency  therefore  presume,  that 
notwithstanding  the  previous  orders  of  the  supreme  gov- 
ernment, it  has  since  become  their  pleasure,  that  we  should 
remain  in  the  country  ?  Besides,  those  communications 
further  state,  that  the  subject  will  soon  come  before  the 
council,  for  a  formal  decision.  But  delays  are  so  liable 
to  occur  in  such  cases,  that  at  this  moment,  a  reasonable 
time  has  hardly  elapsed,  for  the  arrival  of  an  official  deci- 
sion, though  we  have  reason  to  expect  it  daily. 


70  MEMOIR    OF 

Under  such  circumstances,  could  your  Excellency  be 
judged  unfaithful  to  your  trust,  should  you,  at  least,  sus- 
pend our  departure,  till  a  further  time  were  allowed  for 
official  communications  to  be  received  from  Bengal  ?  By 
so  doing,  could  you  be  thought  to  take  upon  yourself  an 
unjustifiable  responsibility  ;  especially  when  it  is  consid- 
ered what  a  discussion  the  spreading  of  the  gospel  in  In- 
dia has  undergone  in  England,  and  how  great  is  the  pro- 
bability, that  something  decidedly  in  favor,  will  soon  be 
announced  in  this  country  ? 

It  is  our  ardent  wish  that  your  Excellency  would 
compare,  most  seriously,  such  an  exercise  of  civil  authori- 
ty upon  us,  with  the  general  spirit  and  tenor  of  our  Sa- 
vior's commands.  We  most  earnestly  entreat  you,  not 
to  send  us  away  from  the  heathen.  We  entreat  you  by 
the  high  probability  that  an  official  permission  from  the 
supreme  government,  for  us  to  remain,  will  shortly  be  re- 
ceived, and  that  something  more  general  and  to  the  same 
effect  will  soon  arrive  from  England. — We  entreat  you, 
by  the  time  and  money  already  expended  on  our  mission, 
and  by  the  Christian  hopes  and  prayers  attending  it,  not 
utterly  to  defeat  its  pious  object,  by  sending  us  from  the 
country. — We  entreat  you  by  the  spiritual  miseries  of  the 
heathen,  who  are  daily  perishing  before  your  eyes  and 
under  your  Excellency's  government,  not  to  prevent  us 
from  preaching  Christ  to  them. — We  entreat  you  by  the 
blood  of  Jesus,  which  he  shed  to  redeem  them. — As 
ministers  of  Him,  who  has  all  power  in  heaven  and  on 
earth,  and  who  with  his  farewell  and  ascending  voice,  com- 
manded his  ministers  to  go  and  teach  all  nations,  we  en- 
treat you  not  to  prohibit  us  from  teaching  these  heath- 


GORDON    HALL.  71 

en. — By  all  the  principles  of  our  holy  religion,  by  which 
your  Excellency  hopes  to  be  saved,  we  entreat  you  not  to 
hinder  us  from  preaching  the  same  religion  to  these  per- 
ishing idolaters. — By  all  the  solemnities  of  the  judgment- 
day,  when  your  Excellency  must  meet  your  heathen  sub- 
jects, before  God's  tribunal,  we  entreat  you  not  to  hinder 
us  from  preaching  to  them  that  gospel,  which  is  able  to 

prepare  them,  as  well  as  you,  for  that  awful  day. ■ — 

And  we  earnestly  beseech  Almighty  God,  now  and  ever 
to  guide  your  Excellency  in  that  way  which  shall  be 
most  pleasing  in  his  sight." 

Immediately  after  communicating  the  above,  which 
they  considered  their  final  appeal,  Mr.  Hall  thus  writes 
in  his  private  journal : 

"  Without  any  regard  to  personal  considerations,  I 
think  I  am  willing  that  God  should  direct.  Sometimes 
I  have  a  kind  of  inward  persuasion,  that  the  same  Lord, 

who  has  so  often  delivered  us,  will  deliver  us  now. 

Blessed  be  God,  who  enables  me  to  have  some  precious 
meditations  on  his  power,  and  his  good  will  to  his  chil- 
dren and  to  his  cause,  and  who  I  trust  enables  me  to  pray 
with  some  degree  of  the  affection,  tenderness  and  submis- 
sion of  a  child." 

In  view  of  the  extracts  which  precede  and  follow  this 
memorial,  it  may  again  be  said,  that  he  trusted  and  obeyed, 
in  view  of  the  command  and  promise,  and  not  in  view  of 
events  and  consequences.  This  final  appeal  was  without 
prospect  of  success ; — it  was  made  with  no  other  hope 
than  that  He  who  had  delivered  so  often,  could  and  would 
deliver,  in  the  last  extremity. 


72  MEMOIR    OF 

And  it  was  in  the  last  extremity,  that  a  deliver- 
ance was  wrought,  surprising  and  overcoming.  After  dis- 
patching this  communication,  the  missionaries  proceeded 
in  their  preparations  for  a  voyage  to  England.  They 
were  not,  of  course,  even  to  the  last,  without  plans  for 
another  escape,  but  none  had  been  devised  which  seemed 
likely  to  elude  the  police  officers,  by  whom  all  their  move- 
ments were  watched.  No  alternative  seemed  to  remain, 
but  to  be  ready  to  embark  on  the  22d  December.  Ac- 
cordingly, on  the  21st  they  did  complete  their  arrange- 
ments— their  baggage  was  prepared — the  porters  were 
collected,  and  had  carried  it  into  the  yard  below,  and  the 
boat  was  in  waiting  at  the  landing  place,  to  take  it  on 
board.  At  this  juncture  a  young  man  in  charge  went  to 
the  captain  for  an  order  for  the  baggage  to  be  received  on 
board.  The  captain  sent  to  the  pay  office  for  the  passage 
money,  when  the  reply  was,  that  the  payment  had  been 
withheld.  The  result,  with  the  feeling  which  the  occa- 
sion called  forth,  are  thus  expressed  by  Mr.  Hall : 

"  Dec.  21.    At  half  past  4  o'clock,  P.  M.,  Mr. 

called  and  said  that  the  governor  had  submitted  our  let- 
ter to  his  council  ;  and  as  no  official  communication  from 
the  supreme  government  at  Bengal  had  been  received 
later  than  the  19th  ult.  it  was  supposed  that  some  delay 
had  been  occasioned,  and  that  we  should  be  allowed  to 
remain,  till  such  communications  should  be  received." — 

" Throwing  myself  into  my  closet,  I  kneeled 

down,  and  blessed  the  prayer  hearing  God,  for  this  signal 
interposition,  beseeching  him  to  go  on  and  perfect  what 
he  had  begun. — There  I  renewedly  devoted  myself  to 
him. — It  was  a  melting,  precious  season." 


GORDON    HALL.  73^ 

The  Missionaries  remained  enjoying  the  sufferance 
and  protection  of  government,  in  pursuing  their  work, 
without  any  farther  communication  from  Sir  Evan,  till 
some  time  in  1815,  his  Excellency  personally  communi- 
cated to  Mr.  Hall  the  result  of  his  correspondence  on  the 
subject.  After  briefly  recapitulating  what  had  taken 
place,  his  Excellency  said,  the  whole  business  had  been 
represented  to  the  Court  of  Directors  in  England,  and 
that  they,  in  reply,  had  stated,  that  the  communications 
from  the  Bombay  government  were  such,  as  led  the 
Court  of  Directors  to  beheve  that  the  object  of  the  mis- 
sionaries was  simply  the  promotion  of  religion ;  and  that 
therefore  he  (Sir  Evan)  was  at  liberty  to  allow  them  to 
remain,  if  he  chose,  and  that  they  should  acquiesce  in 
such  a  decision.  His  Excellency  added,  "  I  can  now 
assure  you,  that  you  have  my  entire  permission  to  remain 
here,  so  long  as  you  conduct  yourselves  in  a  manner 
agreeably  to  your  office ;  and  I  heartily  wish  you  success 
in  your  work." 

"  Under  Providence,"  say  the  Prudential  Committee 
in  their  report,  "  grateful  acknowledgements  are  due  to 
the  Right  Hon.  Sir  Evan  Nepean,  for  the  candor,  mag- 
nanimity and  kindness,  exhibited  in  his  treatment  of  the 
missionaries,  so  creditable  to  his  character  as  a  magistrate 
and  a  Christian." 

The  formal  permission  given  in  the  last  extract  was 
more  than  the  missionaries  had  ever  expected  :  and  more,  it 
is  believed,  than  any  English  mission  in  India,  at  that 
time  enjoyed.  This  unexpected  blessing,  however,  was 
not  without  another  crisis,  which,  at  the  date  of  the  last 
extract,  was  unknown  to  Mr.  Hall,  and  probably  to  Sir 
7 


i4  MEMOIR    OF 

Evan  himself. — The  whole  correspondence  had  been  laid 
before  the  Court  of  Directors  in  England,  and  that  Court 
were  on  the  eve  of  sending  to  India  an  Order,  directly 
the  reverse  of  that  referred  to  in  the  communication  to 
Mr.  Hall : — censuring  all  their  civil  and  ecclesiastical  ser- 
vants, who  had  abetted  the  missionaries,  and  requiring  the 
removal  of  the  American  missionaries  from  India.  At 
this  juncture,  the  venerable  Charles  Grant,  with  great 
pains,  prepared  a  written  defence  of  the  conduct  of  the 
missionaries,  from  their  own  documents  then  before  the 
Court,  which  happily  convinced  the  Directors,  and  gave 
rise  to  the  despatches  to  Bombay  of  which  Sir  Evan  spoke 
in  his  conversation  with  Mr.  Hall. 

Thus  was  established  the  first  mission  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board.  If  it  has  been  apparently  less  successful  in 
the  number  of  conversions  from  the  heathen,  than  some, 
which  have  succeeded  it,  it  should  never  be  forgotten, 
that  the  early  blessings,  which  were  bestowed  upon  it, 
have  made  it  in  no  small  degree  a  means  of  their  success  : 
and  of  that  religious  spirit  at  home,  by  which  they  have 
been  begun  and  sustained.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  what 
would  have  been  the  effect  upon  the  American  churches, 
if  at  either  crisis,  in  the  preceding  history,  the  missiona- 
ries had  returned  defeated  and  disheartened.  But  it  is 
plain,  that  their  faith  and  success  were  a  means  of  ex- 
tending and  establishing  the  principle  and  spirit  of  missions 
to  the  heathen,  which  have  already  carried  the  gospel 
from  the  Western  world  to  all  parts  of  the  globe,  and 
which  promise  to  abound  until  the  whole  earth  shall  be 
full  of  the  knowledge  and  glory  of  the  Lord, 


GORDON    HALL.  75 

It  is  equally  plain  that  this  mission,  and  those  which 
have  followed  in  its  train,  have  greatly  extended  the  sav- 
ing influence  of  religion  at  home,  and  have  in  some  degree 
prevented,  and  give  still  high  promise  of  preventing  the 
declension,  which,  in  all  former  history,  has  at  length  fol- 
lowed an  extensive  revival  of  religion.  Can  it  then  be 
doubted  that  the  mission  at  Bombay,  though  embarrassed  in 
its  first  establishment  in  Dec.  1813,  and  greatly  afflicted 
since,  by  the  illness,  removal  and  death,  of  an  unusual  num- 
ber of  missionaries,  will  at  length  prove,  not  only  the 
means  of  blessing,  to  the  American  churches  and  to  their 
daughters  in  other  lands,  but  according  to  its  original  de- 
sign, make  Bombay  the  metropoUs  of  a  pure  Christianity 
in  Western  India, 


CHAPTER  IV. 


CONTAINING  VARIOUS  LETTERS  AND  EXTRACTS  FROM  HIS 
JOURNAL  DURING  THE  PERIOD  OF  HIS  EiMBARRASSMENTS 
WITH  THE  GOVERNMENT  AT  CALCUTTA  AND  BOMBAY. 


For  the  purpose  of  presenting  to  the  reader  a  con- 
nected view,  of  the  nature,  progress  and  happy  termina- 
tion of  Mr.  Hall's  embarrassments  in  gaining  a  residence 
in  India,  as  contained  in  the  two  preceding  chapters,  some 
interesting  letters  written  at  that  time,  were  omitted,  and 
will  here  be  introduced. 

To  the  Rev.  Dr,  Porter,  of  the  Theological  Seminary, 
Andover. 

"  Calcutta,  Sept.  26,  1812. 
Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 
The  reflection  sometimes  occurs,  that  I  am  engaged 
in  this  eastern  mission,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  a  num- 
ber of  ministers  and  friends,  venerable  for  their  piety  and 
wisdom.  I  well  know  that  some  of  my  friends  in  Amer- 
ica expect  me  to  feel  some  bitter  reflections,  that  I  fool- 
ishly and  wickedly  refused  to  labor  in  the  field,  which 
they  thought,  Providence  pointed  out  to  me ;  and  that  I 


MEMOIR  OF  GORDON  HALL.  77 

have  gone,  unbidden,  to  an  unknown  land,  probably  to  la- 
bor and  suffer  and  spend  my  strength  for  nought.  Dear  Sir, 
I  must  say,  it  was  painful  indeed  to  see  good  men,  and 
teachers  too,  in  the  churches,  either  opposed  or  quite  in" 
different  to  what  appeared-  to  me  one  of  the  plainest 
and  most  important  Christian  duties.  I  can  assure  my 
friends,  that  I  have  none  of  those  bitter  reflections ;  but 
I  have  the  increasing  conviction,  that  hereafter  the 
churches  will  be  amazed  at  their  present  neglect  of  the 
perishing  heathen,  and  their  lack  of  due  exertion  to  ren- 
der the  name  of  the  Lord  great  among  the  nations.  And 
must  not  a  double  portion  of  this  sad  amazement  fall  up- 
on those  v/atchmen  in  Zion,  who  have  neglected  to  lead 
their  churches  to  correct  views  of  their  obligation  to  the 
heathen  ?  Had  they  been  suitably  alive  to  this  work, 
had  they  faithfully  presented  it  to  their  people,  how  ma- 
ny more  prayers  for  the  heathen  had  been  offered  to  God 
by  his  saints  ? — how  many  more  pious  young  men  would 
have  been  educated  for  the  ministry  and  sent  forth  in  the 
name  of  Christ  to  the  heathen  ?  O  how  much  is  to  be 
done  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  coming  of  our  Lord  1" 

Extract  from  a  letter  to  his  'parents. 

"  Bombay,  Dec.  16,  1812. 
My  dear  Father, 
Your  affectionate  son  is  still  alive,  is  in  good  health 
and  in  the  very  place  and  employment,  which  he  w^ould 
be,  if  left  to  his  own  choice.     I  have  nothing  but  my  sins 
to  interrupt  my  happiness,  and  from  these,  I  trust  my 
blessed  Savior  will  in  due  time  completely  deliver  me. 
Glory  be  to  God  for  his  grace  !  Without  this  blessed  hope, 
7* 


78 


MEMOIR    OF 


who  can  think  of  death, — who  can  look  to  the  judgment 
day  and  eternity  !  To  go  down  to  the  grave,  without 
Christ  for  our  friend — to  appear  at  the  bar  of  God  with- 
out him  for  our  advocate, — alas !  who  can  bear  the 
thought  of  groaning  under  the  weight  of  his  sin  and  guilt 
through  eternity  !  Who  can  dwell  with  devouring  fire  ! 
It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living 
God.  The  wicked  is  driven  away  in  his  wickedness,  but  the 
righteous  hath  hope  in  his  death.  Death  how  solemn,  how 
near  !  — Judgment — how  awful,  how  certain  !  Eternity 
— everlasting  torments  with  devils, — or  everlasting  joy 
with  Christ !  O  my  dear  Father,  are  you  prepared  for 
these  scenes  ? 

My  beloved  mother,  my  brothers  and  sisters,  are  you 
ready  ?  Where  do  you  stand  ? — Have  you  dug  deep 
and  built  your  house  on  the  rock,  Christ  Jesus  ?  Have 
you  been  born  again  ?  Have  old  things  passed  away  and 
all  things  become  new  ?  Do  you  love  God  ?  Do  you 
love  prayer  ?  Do  you  love  the  Bible  ?  Do  you  love  all 
that  God  commands  you  to  do?  Is  it  your  study  daily, 
from  morning  to  night,  to  fear  God  and  keep  his  com- 
mandments ?  Do  you  continually  watch  to  see  where 
you  violate  God's  will?  And  when  you  sin,  are  you 
ready  to  confess  it  to  God — to  mourn  over  it,  and  hum- 
bly to  beg  forgiveness  for  Christ  sake  ? Un- 
less you  find  these  things  in  your  hearts,  do  not,  I  beseech 
you,  think  yourselves  ready  to  die. 

I  always  feel  condemned,  because  I  did  not  urge  these 
things  more  earnestly  upon  you,  when  I  was  with  you. 
But  those  precious  seasons  are  gone  forever !  and  now  I 


GORDON    HALL.  79 

can  only  write  you  a  few  letters  from  a  far  country,  and 
pray,  God  to  save  your  souls." 

Extracts  from  a  letter  to  his  parents. 

''  Bombay,  March  8,  1813. 
My  dear  parents, 

I  suppose  you  have  received  no  letters  from  me  since 
I  left  Philadelphia,  though  I  have  written  you  three  times. 
God  has  dealt  with  me  in  great  kindness.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  days,  I  have  had  perfect  health,  and 
more  comfort  in  religion  and  more  general  happiness, 
than  I  ever  before  experienced,  in  an  equal  portion  of  my 
life.  Were  there  no  more  to  be  brought  into  the  ac- 
count, than  my  oivn  spiritual  advantage,  I  should  even 
then  have  great  occasion  to  bless  God  for  calling  me  to 
the  missionary  work.  But  I  find  that  my  wicked  heart 
is  the  same  here  as  in  America.  No  change  of  circum- 
stances or  climate  has  power  to  subdue  its  awful  depravi- 
ty. Nothing  but  the  mighty  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
can  ever  take  away  sin  and  fit  the  heart  for  heaven. 

When  we  arrived  in  this  place,  we  found  that  the 
government  of  Bengal  had  written  to  the  government  here 
"laying  certain  grievious  things  to  our  charge,"  which, 
however,  very  happily  for  us,  we  have  been  able,  at  least 
as  we  think,  fully  to  disprove. 

Here  is  a  field  vastly  important,  perhaps  none  is 
more  so ;  and  we  should  esteem  it  a  very  great  favor 
from  God,  should  he  here  set  before  us  an  open  door,  and 
suffer  no  man  to  shut  it.  But  if  he  refuse  to  grant  the 
desire  of  our  hearts,  we  will  submit,  but  \t^e  will  not  be 
discouraged.     We  are  very  liable  to  be  sent  to  England, 


80  MEMOIR    OF 

In  a  short  time ;  the  next  yoa  hear  from  us  may  be  from 
there,  or  perhaps  from  our  own  hps  in  America. 

My  dear  father,  I  greatly  desire  to  hear  from  you  ;  if  you 
are  yet  unreconciled  to  God,  I  earnestly  entreat  you,  as  an 
affectionate  son,  not  to  live  another  day,  without  making 
.Christ  your  friend.  Death  must  be  near,  and  the  retribu- 
tions of  eternity  no  farther  off. My  dear  mother,  I 

think  of  you  with  great  affection,  and  I  fear  you  are  too 
anxious  about  things  of  the  present  life,  and  do  not  give 
yourself  sufficiently  to  the  daily  reading  of  the  Bible,  to 
meditation  and  to  prayer.  It  can  hardly  be  expected, 
that  any  will  get  to  heaven,  without  much  exercise  in  these 
things ;  certainly  without  them,  none  can  enjoy  the  com- 
forts of  religion,  and  let  their  light  shine  before  others." 

Letter  to  Rev.  Darius   O.   Griswold. 

"  Bombay,  Aug,  1813. 
My  dear  brother, 

This  is  my  fourth  letter  to  you  since  I  left  America. 
It  is  however  doubtful  whether  they  have  reached  you, 
an  account  of  the  deplorable  war,  with  which  God  is 
chastising  America  for  her  sins.  Over  this  great  calam- 
ity, I  would  mingle  my  tears  with  yours,  and  implore  the 
Prince  of  peace  to  come  and  still  the  nations. 

As  to  war,  you  may  mark  me  for  a  thorough  Quaker. 
I  believe  it  is  utterly  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  for 
man  in  any  case,  to  draw  his  sword  and  stab  his  brother, 
"  bone  of  his  bone  and  flesh  of  his  flesh."  I  wish  every 
body  would  read  Barclay,  Clarkson  and  Dodge  on  this  sub- 
ject. Though  they  have  not  advanced  the  whole  weight 
of  argument  that  might  be  presented,  yet  I  think  enough 


GORDON    HALL.  81 

to  convince  every  pious  mind.  How  long  did  many  good 
men  advocate  the  slave  trade, — ^but  now  what  a  phenom- 
enon to  see  such  a  man  ?  So  it  will  soon  be  with  war. 
Wars  must  cease  before  the  millennium  can  come  ; — he 
therefore,  who  advocates  war,  does  virtually  advocate  a 
procrastination  of  the  millennium.  O  that  God  would 
teach  his  people  to  come  out  from  the  world  and  keep 
their  garments  unspotted  ! 

Till  very  recently,  we  have  been  expecting  to 

go  to  England  by  the  first  fleet  now  about  to  sail.  But 
instead  of  going  in  it,  I  write  by  it.  It  will  be  some 
months  before  other  ships  will  go.  In  the  mean  time,  we 
hope  God  will  in  some  way,  give  us  an  entrance  among 
the  heathen,  in  this  most  interesting  field.  We  endeav- 
or to  leave  all  with  him  and  walk  by  faith.  We  have  labor- 
ed hard  at  the  native  language,  for  five  months,  and  have 
made  considerable  progress.  Should  we  go  to  England 
or  even  to  America,  with  our  present  views,  we  should 
be  far  from  concluding  that  this  is  not  to  be  the  field  of 
our  future  labors. 

Difficulties  in  the  way  of  building  up  Zion,  should  on- 
ly increase  the  exertions  of  her  friends.  You  know  what 
a  slothful,  treacherous  spirit  is  in  the  world,  and  you 
know  too,  how  the  Lord  views  it.  What  if  the  work  is 
commanded,  in  times  of  great  discouragement  ?  There 
is  a  full  warrant  for  setting  it  forward. 

The  Desire  of  all  nations  has  come  once,  and  he  will 
come  again  ;  but  his  way  must  be  prepared  before  him. 
And  as  before  he  was  manifest  in  the  flesh,  all  the  con- 
cerns of  the  world  were  tending  to  his  first  advent,  so 
since  then,  every  thing  is  tending  to  his  second  coming. 


82  MEMOIR    OF 

« 

The  moment  we  lose  sight  of  this,  we  also  lose  sight  of 
the  Consolation  of  Israel,  of  the  glory  of  the  church,  of 
her  Redeemer  and  her  God. 

Trying  things  have  befallen  our  mission.  I  want  to 
hear  of  their  effect  upon  the  churches.  Churches,  as 
well  as  missionanies,  need  to  be  exhorted  to  faith,  patience, 
and  a  preparation  for  disappointments.  Since  Christ  will 
certainly  destroy  satan's  kingdom,  and  convert  all  nations 
to  himself,  and  since  he  will  certainly  employ  Christians 
in  this  work,  the  more  difEculties  are  increased,  the  more 
and  better  soldiers  must  be  sent  into  the  field," 

It  will  be  perceived  by  the  following  extracts,  as  well 
as  by  a  preceding  letter,  that  Mr.  Hall  was  an  advocate 
for  the  doctrine  of  peace.  He  uniformly  and  zealously 
opposed  the  principle  of  war  in  every  shape,  and  on  every 
occasion.  He  was  not  altogether  unsuccessful  in  his  ef- 
forts to  lead  others  to  adopt  the  same  sentiment.  It  is 
known  that  two  young  English  officers  in  the  India  ser- 
vice, with  whom  Mr.  Hall  was  conversant,  were  brought 
into  the  same  sentiments  chiefly  through  his  instrumen- 
tality. It  is  believed  both  of  these  young  gentlemen  con- 
sider Mr.  Hall  as  instrumental  in  their  conversion  to  God, 
as  well  as  of  abandoning  the  principle  of  war. 

The  four  following  letters  were  written  by  Mr.  Hall 
to  one  of  these  young  men. 


GORDON    HALL.  83 

"  Bomhay,  Aug,  25,  1813. 
My  dear  friend, 

Yours  of  the  23d  came  to  hand  last  evening.  I  rejoice 
that  the  Lord  has  not  forsaken  you,  that  he  does  not 
leave  you  to  sin,  v\^ithout  being  sensible  of  it,  that  he  is 
teaching  you  the  depravity  of  your  heart,  the  vanity  of 
this  world,  the  necessity  of  Christ,  and  the  duty  of  tak- 
ing up  the  cross  and  following  him.  How  great  is  that 
grace,  which  inchned  your  heart  to  think  of  the  Savior  ! 

When  we  think  of  the  treachery  of  our  hearts,  where 
should  we  find  any  hope,  had  not  God  said,  I  will  not 
forsake  my  people.  In  our  hearts  all  is  discouragement 
— in  Christ,  all  is  encouragement.  Without  Christ,  we 
can  do  nothing — through  Christ  strengthening  us,  we  can 
do  all  thinojs. 

You  desire  me  to  be  very  explicit  on  "  the  matter  of 
war,  and  respecting  its  being  justifiable  or  not."  You 
cannot  mean  that  I  should  enter  into  a  full  discussion  of 
the  whole  subject ;  it  would  require  a  volume.  I  per- 
fectly agree  with  you  in  viewing  the  three  cases  of  war 
which  you  mentioned,  as  entirely  contrary  to  the  gospel. 
If  these  three  are  the  only  cases  in  which  you  are  liable 
to  be  called  to  fight,  and  if  you  deem  it  contrary  to  the 
gospel  to  fight  in  either  of  these  cases,  then  your  way  is 
clear.  You  must  leave  the  army,  or  do  violence  to  your 
conscience. 

As  to  war  and  violence,  in  every  shape,  I  am  as  con- 
fident that  it  is  utterly  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel, 
as  I  am  that  theft  or  any  other  imiuorality  is  so.  You 
cannot  expect  me  to  collect  and  arrange  the  arguments 
against  it.     Just  look  at  this  command,  "  Put  ye  on  the 


84  MEMOIR  OF 

Lord  Jesus."  Assume  his  character — ^be  holy  and  harm- 
less as  he  was — be  meek,  lowly,  gentle  and  inoffensive 
as  he  was.  Love  your  enemies,  pray  for  them  and  do 
them  good,  as  he  did.  Peter,  in  his  zeal  to  defend  his 
master  (and  what  cause  could  be  more  justifiable)  cut  off 
an  ear  of  one  of  the  mob.  But  Peter  was  reproved  for 
drawing  the  sword,  and  Christ  wrought  a  miracle  to  heal 
his  enemy.  And  when  he  was  seized  by  his  enemies,  he 
was  led  like  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  he  opened  not  his 
mouth.  Such  is  the  character  we  are  to  put  on,  and  nev- 
er, for  a  moment,  to  put  off.  Now  can  the  man  who 
thus  puts  on  Christ,  thus  abides  in  Christ,  thus  conforms 
to  Christ,  can  he  draw  his  sword  and  take  the  life  of  his 
fellow  man,  and  hurry  him  to  the  bar  of  God  ? 

"  Whatever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye 
the  same  to  them." — Now  is  it  possible  for  a  man  to  com- 
mit any  kind  of  violence,  without  breaking  this  com- 
mand ? 

We  are  commanded  to  pray  for  all  men,  and  to  pray 
withovit  ceasing. — Who  can  reconcile  this  with  the  busi- 
ness of  Mlling  them  ? 

It  is  our  duty  to  pray  that  wars  may  cease.  But  how 
would  such  a  prayer  sound  on  the  lips  of  a  man  girded 
with  the  sword. — Let  your  heart  be  open  to  conviction — 
keep  the  Savior  before  your  eye,  and  you  cannot  remain 
in  doubt  on  this  subject." 

"  Bombay,  Sept,  1813. 
Dear  friend. 
You  say  that  your  sins  and  your  Savior  are  constant- 
ly before  your  eyes.     I  rejoice  at  this.     May  it  never  be 


GORDON    HALL.  85 

ot/ierwise.  David,  that  eminent  servant  of  God,  said, 
"  my  sin  is  ever  before  me,"  and  again,  "  I  set  the  Lord 
always  before  me."  There  were  doubtless  two  important 
means,  which  he  employed,  in  his  becoming  a  man  after 
God's  own  heart. 

You  do  well  in  making  every  step  a  subject  of  prayer. 
Could  I  say  any  thing  to  impress  this  duty  still  more 
deeply  upon  your  mind,  I  should  deem  myself  inexcusa- 
ble in  not  doing  it.  Your  trying  circumstances  do,  in  a 
very  special  manner,  call  you  to  pray erfuln ess. 

Concerning  your  resignation,  I  think  you  have  taken 
a  right  course.  It  is  unquestionably  correct  to  reduce 
your  inquiry  to  the  single  point, — "  Is  the  profession  of 
arms  right,  on  Bible  proof,  or  is  it  wrong  ?"  If  wrong, 
if  sinful,  It  must  be  abandoned,  come  what  may,- — noth* 
ing  is  so  daring  and  presumptuous  as  living  in  known  sin. 

I  am  glad  you  make  the  Bible  your  only  guide  ;  the 
moment  you  leave  this,  for  any  other  rule,  your  case  is 
alarming.  If  you  weigh  all  your  arguments  in  this  holy 
balance,  you  will  escape  error.  But,  my  friend,  feel  th^ 
importance  of  being  taught  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  If  you 
see  your  duty,  you  will  not  pursue  it,  unless  moved  for- 
ward by  the  grace  of  God.  If  you  begin  the  pursuit,  you 
will  finish  it  only  through  Christ  strengthening  you. 

The  question  before  you  is,  whether  you  shall  aban- 
don, what  the  world  calls  honorable,  lucrative  and  wise ; 
and  in  the  place  of  it,  take  what  the  same  world  esteems 
folly,  ignominy  and  poverty.  In  this,  you  will  find  the 
w^orld,  satan  and  all  the  wickedness  of  your  own  heart 
combined  to  oppose  you.  They  will  not  mind  defeats— 
if  they  do  not  succeed  in  one  attack,  they  will  plot  anoth-  ^ 
8 


86  MEMOIR  OF 

er.  In  the  great  work  of  salvation,  it  is  satan's  policy, 
first,  to  hold  the  sinner  in  perfect  stupidity ;  if  he  fails  in 
this,  he  will  endeavor  to  induce  him  to  put  it  off  for  the 
present ;  if  he  does  not  succeed  here,  he  v^^ill  attempt  to 
substitute  error  for  truth.  These  are  his  devices,  not  on- 
ly in  the  article  of  personal  salvation,  but  in  every  step  of 
Christian  duty.  May  you  be  enabled  to  take  refuge  in 
Christ,  who  has  overcome  principalities  and  powers,  and 
can  easily  give  you  the  victory  over  all  these  mighty 
foes." 

"  Bombay,  Sept.  27,  1813. 
My  dear  friend, 
Yours  of  the  18th  came  to  hand  on  the  21st.  We 
unitedly  blessed  God  for  his  mercy  to  you.  Neither  we 
nor  you  can  ever  ascribe  to  him  one  thousandth  part  of 
that  praise,  which  is  his  due ;  but  let  us  do  all  we  can, 
and  pray  for  strength  to  do  more.  If  God  has  truly  en- 
lightened your  mind  by  a  knowledge  of  his  truth,  and  en- 
abled you,  in  any  measure,  to  do  his  will,  how  great  the 
mercy !  Such  knowledge  does  not  spring  from  any  acute- 
ness  of  mental  discernment ;  for  the  natural  man  under- 
standeth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit,  nor  can  he  know 
them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned.  .  .  .  You 
say,  you  are  ignorant — and  well  may  you  say  this.  The 
Christian  is  a  perpetual  student ;  he  has  many  things  to 
study  and  to  learn,  before  he  can  fully  know  what  the 
Lord  would  have  him  do.  So  far  as  you  have  obtained  a 
knowledge  of  God's  will,  you  cannot  hold  it  fast,  unless 
you  are  strengthened  by  divine  grace  ;  much  less  can  you 
without  the  same  grace,  derive  peace  and  comfort  firom 


GORDON    HALL.  87 

that  knowledge.  While  you  fear  that  you  are  leaning  to 
your  own  understanding,  see  well  to  it,  that  you  do  not 
fear  still  more  to  submit  yourself  to  be  taught  of  God — 
to  sit  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  with  an  entire  willingness  to 
hear  and  obey  every  direction  he  may  give. 

You  seem  decided  on  the  subject  of  war.  I  think  all 
your  subsequent  reflections,  if  devout,  will  only  confirm 
your  decisions,  and  render  you  more  thankful  for  that 
spiritual  light  and  grace,  which  enabled  you  to  make 
them. — You  request  me  "  to  search,  if  there  are  any 
scriptural  proofs  in  favor  of  war :"  I  could  as  soon  look 
for  proof  that  men  may  he  one  to  another,  as  that  they 
may  slaughter  one  another.  The  last  passages  on  which 
my  mind  received  satisfaction  were  Rom.  13:  1 — 8.  1 
Cor.  7:  20,  21.  The  objection  arising  from  the  first  of 
these,  you  have  answered,  incontrovertjbly ;  the  second 
oo  more  proves  that  the  soldier  must  abide  in  his  calling, 
than  it  does  that  the  highway-man  must  abide  in  his. 

You  say  you  cannot  remain  in  the  army,  with  a  clear 
conscience,  and  shall  therefore  resign  your  commission, — 
but  by  retaining  it  and  going  to  England  on  a  furlough  and 
then  resigning,  the  passage  will  cost  you  only  1500  rupees, 
whereas  if  you  resign  here  your  passage  will  cost  4000. 
If  your  profession  in  the  army  is  incompatible  with  your 
duty  as  a  Christian,  it  can  be  no  less  sinful  for  you  to  con- 
tinue in  that  profession  for  a  moment,  either  on  board  ship 
or  in  England,  than  here  ;  and  to  do  it,  for  the  sake  of 
saving  money  to  benefit  your  aged  parents,  or  for  any 
other  purpose,  would  be  "  doing  evil,  that  good  may 
come." 

In  the  present  stage  of  the  business,  I  advise  you  to 


88  MEMOIR    OF 

bring  distinctly  before  your  mind  this  solemn  inquiry, 
by  what  course  of  life  you  can  do  most  for  the  glory  of 
God,  and  retain  a  conscience  void  of  offence.  I  would 
submit  to  your  consideration  the  solemn  inquiry,  wheth- 
er you  ought  not  to  make  it  the  fixed  object  of  your  life 
to  serve  God  in  this  country,  where,  as  you  tmst,  God 
has  begun  to  prepare  you  for  heaven.  You  may  begin 
in  the  capacity  of  a  school-master,  and  see  how  much 
you  can  do  for  God,  in  training  up  youth  in  knowledge 
and  religion. — In  the  mean  time,  you  can  pursue  the 
study  of  the  popular  languages  of  the  country,  and  the 
study  of  divinity  ;  and  when  you  shall  judge  it  expedient, 
you  can  receive  ordination  and  enter  the  ministry  and 
preach  the  word  of  life  to  these  perishing  millions. 

But  you  will  say,  "  what  shall  I  do  for  the  benefit  of 
my  parents" — "  and  how  can  I  gain  a  support?"  As  to 
your  own  support,  I  conceive  there  would  be  no  diffi- 
culty. The  avails  of  your  school,  with  Christian  plain- 
ness and  simplicity  in  your  style  of  living,  would  not  only 
secure  you  a  subsistence,  but  would  enable  you  to  do  some- 
thing for  your  dear  parents.  Perhaps  if  you  should  write 
to  your  parents,  letting  them  know  what  God  has  done 
for  your  soul,  your  views  of  duty  and  your  desires  to  be 
useful  here,  they  would  not  wish  you  to  leave  this  field  of 
usefulness  merely  to  minister  to  their  wants." 

The  following  and  last  letter  to  this  young  officer, 
contains  a  discussion  of  a  principle  of  very  general  appli- 
cation, and  on  which  multitudes  are  deceived  to  their  own 
ruin  and  the  great  injury  of  community ;  it  therefore  de- 
serves the  particular  consideration  of  the  reader. 


GOUDON    HALL.  89 

"  Bombay,  Oct.  5,  1813. 

My  dear  Sir, 

The  questions  you  propose  are  important,  and  not 
without  difficulties.  I  consider  myself  as  fearfully  re- 
sponsible to  God  for  every  word  I  write  you.  I  need 
much  time  to  meditate  upon  and  examine  the  subject. — 
But  as  you  desire  me  to  write  immediately,  and  as  I  shall 
only  have  time  to  receive  another  letter  from  you,  before 
my  expected  departure,  I  send  you  such  thoughts  as  oc- 
cur to  my  mind  without  much  meditation. 

Your  first  inquiry  is  this,  "  can  I  relinquish  the  pres- 
ent means  of  subsistence,  which  God  has  given  me,  till  I 

have  some  reasonable  hope  of  gaining  my  bread  ?" > 

You  admit  that  your  profession  is  a  sinful  one,  which  you 
cannot  conscientiously  follow.  But,  dear  Sir,  will  you 
charge  God  with  putting  you  into  this  sinful  profession, 
or  providing  such  unholy  means  for  your  subsistence  ? — 
Ought  you  not  rather  to  consider,  that  in  the  pride,  van- 
ity and  thoughtlessness  of  your  heart,  you  put  yourself  in- 
to this  situation,  contrary  to  his  will,  as  made  known  to 
you  in  his  word  ?  And  that  God  might  justly  call  you  to 
want  and  disgrace  for  it?  Again.  If  your  profession  is  a 
sinful  one,  is  it  better  to  run  the  risk  of  continuing  a  while 
in  a  course  of  sin,  than  to  run  the  risk  of  wanting  bread  ? 
You  say  "  till  I  have  some  reasonable  hope  of  gaining 
my  bread :"  1  would  have  you  examine  Ps.  34 :  9,  10. 
and  84,  11.  Matt.  6:  25—34,  and  Mark  10:  28—31. 
Now  do  not  the  numerous  promises  of  this  kind,  which 
God  has  made  to  his  children,  amount  to  so  much  as  '^  a 
reasonable  hope  of  gaining  your  bread  ?"     Do  not  the 

terms  of  this  inquiry  look  something  like  this  ?      If  I 

8* 


90  MEMOIR   OF 

could  but  see  that  my  bread  would  be  sure,  then  I  would 
trust  in  God  for  it,  and  do  what  he  commands ;  but  till  I 
have  this  "  reasonable  hope,"  I  must  take  care  of  myself. 

My  dear  Sir,  we  are  to  walk  by  faith,  and  not  by 

sight. 

You  argue  from  the  command,  "abstain  from  all  ap- 
pearance of  evil,"  as  though  giving  up  a  reasonable  hope 
of  gaining  your  bread,  had  the  ''  appearance"  of  evil. — 
But  has  it  not  something  more  than  the  "  appearance  of 
evil?"  is  it  not  evil  itself  to  remain  in  an  evil  employ- 
ment, though  you  might  in  your  heart  iiTtend  to  make  a 
pious  use  of  the  avails  of  that  employment  ? 

If  I  mistake  not,  you  allude  to  the  words  of  our  Sa- 
vior, "  man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone  &c.,"  as  though 
it  might  countenance  you  in  continuing  in  your  profession. 
These  words  are  a  quotation  from  Deut.  8:3.  The 
sentiment  is  most  obviously  this,  that  we  are  first  to  do 
every  thing  commanded,  and  trust  God  to  provide  our 
bread.  This,  I  conceive,  is  the  exact  and  invariable  rule, 
in  all  cases,  where  the  method  proposed  for  gaining  bread 
comes  in  competition  with  the  command  of  God.  But 
this  does  not  forbid  temperate  foresight  and  diligence  in 
any  path,  which  does  not  run  counter  to  the  command 
of  God.  But  after  all,  if  the  course  you  contemplate, 
should  bring  you  to  hunger  and  even  to  death,  would  that 
be  any  argument  against  it  ?  What  has  the  faith  of  those 
of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy,  brought  them  to  ?  (see 
Heb.  11  :  36 — 39.)  Can  you  suffer  more  than  they 
did  ?  and  does  their  suffering  prove  that  they  chose  a 
wrong  course  ? 

Your  next  mquiry  is,  "  what  shall  you  do  for  your 


GORDON  HALL.  91 

dear  parents  in  this  trying  situation  ?"  This  is  a  tender 
point.  I  shall  only  observe  at  present,  that  if  your  pro- 
fession is  a  sinful  one,  they  sinned  in  putting  their  son  in- 
to it,  and  God  might  justly  make  them  suffer  for  it. — 
Certainly  neither  they  nor  any  other  persons  have  a  right, 
for  a  moment,  to  bind  you  to  that  situation,  which  you 
cannot  occupy,  without  violating  the  precepts  and  will  of 
your  Savior,  nor  can  any  consideration  justify  you  in  sus- 
taining a  profession,  which  you  linow  to  be  disallowed  by 
Christ." 

To  his  cousin,  John  Hall,  Esq.  Ellington,  (Conn.) 
"  Bombay,  Oct.  13,  1813. 
My  dear  friend. 
Yours  of  Sept.  1812,  has  just  reached  me.     It  was 
the  first  letter  I  received  from  America.  It  gladdened  my 
heart.    We  had  been  for  months  deeply  lamenting  the 
foolish  war,  in  which  our  country  is  engaged.     1  hope 
every  effort  will  be  made  to  bring  good  out  of  this  evil, 
by  showing  people  how  sinful  and  presumptuous  is  every 
war,  which  is  not  specially  authorized  and  directed  by  a 
revelation  from  Heaven.     Since  war  is  but  the  scourge 
of  Heaven  to  chastise  guilty  nations,  and  since  Jehovah 
has  said,  "  Vengeance  is  mine,  I  will  repay  it,"  how  pre- 
sumptuous for  one  nation,  unbidden,  to  step  forward  in 
the  execution  of  such  vengeance  upon  another  nation  ? 

But  while  the  thunder  of  war  is  rending  the  heavens, 
with  what  joy  do  we  behold  the  silent,  but  majestic  move- 
ments of  divine  grace  ?  What  is  said  in  your  letter  and  in 
others  of  a  later  date  of  the  increasing  love  of  Christians, 
their  zeal  against  war  and  in  favor  of  missions,  and  also 


92 


MEMOIR  OF 


about  revivals,  has  greatly  comforted  us  under  our  se- 
vere trials.  Some  of  these  I  mentioned  to  you,  in  my 
letter  from  Calcutta. 

It  was  with  much  difficulty  we  succeeded  in  getting 
to  this  place ;  and  since  our  arrival,  we  have  been,  and 
still  are,  in  utter  uncertainty,  whether  we  can  remain  Or 
not.  But  we  have  strong  hope  that  things  will  soon 
change,  for  the  better.  We  are  encouraged,  by  the 
manner  in  which  the  subject  of  missions  is  coming  before 
the  British  nation.  Yet  how  surprising,  how  distressing ! 
— Eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  it  was  solemnly  comman- 
ded by  Jesus  Christ,  that  his  gospel  should  be  preached 
to  every  creature,  but  now  the  British  parliament  is  de- 
bating whether  it  may  or  may  not  be  published  to  60,000, 
000  of  their  heathen  subjects  in  Asia.  Is  not  this  some- 
thing like  what  Dr.  Backus  says,  "  that  men  sometimes 
form  themselves  into  a  lower  house  to  check  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Almighty." 

Since  we  have  been  in  India,  we  have  seen  every 
thing  that  is  calculated  to  fill  our  hearts  with  gratitude, 
for  the  blessings  of  the  gospel,  with  lamentation  over 
the  apostasy  of  man,  with  commiseration  for  perishing 
sinners,  and  with  zeal  for  the  universal  diffusion  of  the 
word  of  life.  We  have  seen  almost  all  sorts  of  cus- 
toms, manners  and  conditions  of  human  life.  I  will  not 
attempt  a  detail.  Indeed  it  matters  little  whether  a 
man's  hair  trails  upon  the  ground  like  the  Chinese,  or 
whether  like  the  Hindoos  it  is  shorn  as  close  as  an  En- 
glishman's face. — Whether  he  binds  his  loins  with  a  gir- 
dle like  the  Asiatic,  or  covers  his  nakedness  with  a  blan- 
ket like  the  North  American  savage  ; — whether  he  lives 
in  a  bamboo  or  a  log  hut, — on  a  plain  or  a  mountain  ; — 


GORDON    HALL.  93 

whether  he  eats  rice  or  wheat ; — whether  his  language  is 
refined  or  barbarous, — or  what  are  the  personal  qualities 
of  the  multitudes  of  gods  which  crowd  the  Hindoo  pan- 
theon ; — a  thousand  things  of  this  kind  may  be  interest- 
ing and  amusing  to  the  curious,  but  they  are  not  the 
things  which  Christians  need,  to  excite  them  to  action  in 
disseminating  the  gospel.  The  facts  which  the  Chris- 
tian needs  are  few  and  simple.  The  world  is  full  of 
heathen.  Christ  died  for  them  all.  The  gospel  must 
be  preached  to  them.  This  is  the  manifesto  with  which 
Christians  should  advance  to  the  holy  war;  and  they 
would  do  well  to  take  with  them  this  military  maxim,  "  no 
fort  is  too  strong  to  be  taken." 

I  long  to  see,  in  some  periodical  publication  a  series 
of  numbers  from  an  able  pen,  on  topics  like  the  following. 
—  What  means f  as  such,  are  adequate  to  evangelize  all 
nations  1 — How  far  would  the  present  state  of  heathen 
nations  allow  these  means  to  be  employed!  How  far 
have  the  Christian  churches  ability  to  employ  these  means, 
taking  for  their  rule  of  duty,  the  example  of  Christ  and 
his  apostles  1 —  What  will  be  deemed,  at  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, an  adequate  excuse,  for  not  employing  these  means, 
to  their  full  extent. 

f  The  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the  various  lan- 
guages of  the  heathen  is  another  subject,  which  I  have  an 
equal  desire  to  see  taken  up,  in  the  same  way.  On  this  sub- 
ject, it  seems  to  me,  the  Christian  public  is  nmning  into 
an  alarming  error,  in  two  respects. — First  by  ascribing  to 
these  translations,  as  they  are  now  made,  a  degree  of  per- 
fection, which  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  they  cannot 
possess. The    second  error  lies,  in  assigning  to  the 


94  MEMOIR    OF 

Bible  alone,  that  agency  in  converting  the  world,  which 
God  has  not  assigned.  Many  seem  to  suppose  that  if  the 
Bible  were  only  scattered  among  the  nations,  the  work  of 
conversion  would  follow  of  course ;  and  that  when  the 
Scriptures  are  thus  diffused,  the  field  is  occupied,  and 
preachers  can  be  spared  to  go  to  other  regions.  The 
fact  is  that  in  the  economy  of  human  salvation,  the  hving 
preacher  holds  the  most  prominent  instrumentality.  The 
Bible  alone  was  never  designed  by  God  to  convert  the 
nations, — it  contains  the  doctrines  and  the  truths  which 
the  living  preacher  is  to  explain  and  enforce.  It  is  the 
armory  from  which  the  soldier  of  the  cross  is  to  furnish 
himself  with  his  weapons  of  conquest." 

Letter  to  Rev.  Dr.  Porter. 

"  Bomlay,   Oct.  1813. 

In  return  for  your  interesting  letter,  I  could  fill 

this,  by  relating  the  way  in  which  the  Lord  has  led  us, 
but  I  forbear.  I  will  only  say,  every  step  has  been  mark- 
ed with  loving  kindness.  True  we  have  had  trials,  nu- 
merous and  severe,  but  they  were  all  mercies. 

This  island  embraces  about  as  much  temtory  as 

an  ordinary  parish  in  New-England,  and  contains  more 
than  200,000  souls.  But  why  should  I  speak  of  Bombay 
— a  little  speck,  which  can  hardly  be  discerned  upon  the 
map  of  the  heathen  world  ?  why  speak  of  its  perishing 
multitudes  which  would  almost  be  lost  in  adding  the  mill- 
ions which  people  other  pagan  countries  ?  The  church 
is  to  fix  her  eye  upon  the  whole  unevangelized  world, 
with  all  its  necessities  and  claims,  resolving  to  meet  these 
claims  and  relieve  these  necessities. 


GORDON    HALL.  95 

I  am  accustomed  to  look  upon  the  whole  heathen 
world  as  one  vast  field,  already  white  for  the  harvest.  I 
then  estimate  the  number  of  laborers  necessary  to  reap 
this  field,  and  the  number  which  the  Christian  church  is 
able  and  in  duty  bound,  to  send  forth  to  work,  and  my 
heart  sinks  within  me.  Separated  far  from  each  other,  I 
see  here  and  there  one,  standing  on  the  borders  of  the 
field  and  toiling  to  gather  in  a  little  of  the  decaying,  yet 
precious  grain.  But  O  what  are  these,  when  compared 
with  the  extent  and  worth  of  the  harvest ! 

Viewing  the  nations  of  the  world  as  a  harvest  field, 
and  the  ministers  of  Christ  as  the  reapers,  we  may  con- 
sider the  word  of  God  as  the  sickle,  with  which  the  field 
is  to  be  reaped.  The  church  for  ages  has  kept  this  sa- 
cred instrument  within  her  own  pale,  as  though  it  were  a 
chartered  monopoly.  But,  blessed  be  God,  she  is  begin- 
ning to  open  her  eyes  to  her  duty,  and  to  show  some  zeal 
for  the  diffusion  of  the  sacred  word.  But  is  there  no 
danger,  that  she  is  placing  too  much  dependance  upon 
the  mere  diffusion  of  the  Scriptures  ?  Were  I  to  judge 
from  the  tenor  of  some  recent  publications  on  this  subject, 
I  should  think  the  sentiment  is  stealing  upon  the  minds  of 
many,  that  Bibles  alone  will  convert  the  world.  This 
sentiment  is  as  absurd,  as  it  would  be  to  toss  a  sickle  into 
the  midst  of  a  field  of  grain,  and  leave  it  unwielded,  to 
gather  the  harvest. 

Do  not  understand  me  to  say  aught  against  the  sickle ; 
were  it  in  my  power  I  would  multiply  it  a  thousand 
fold.  But  what  I  mean  is,  there  should  be  a  due  pro- 
portion observed  in  sending  forth  preachers,  and  in  multi- 
plying translations  of  the  Bible.     Much  might  be  said  to 


96  MEMOIR    OF 

illustrate  this,  by  adverting  to  Ceylon,  the  Coromandel 
coast,  Java  and  some  of  the  neighboring  islands,  where  the 
Scriptures  have  been  translated,  many  years,  but  have 
not  been  accompanied  by  preachers  of  the  gospel.  Ad- 
vance within  twenty  miles  of  the  depositories  of  these 
translations,  and  you  can  scarcely  discover  a  single  ves- 
tige of  Christianity.  Has  God  authorized  us  to  expect 
any  thing  effectual  from  the  Bible,  when  sent  alone  into 
the  heathen  world  ?  "  How  shall  they  hear  without  a 
preacher  ?"  God  has  been  too  mindful  of  the  good  of 
his  people,  not  to  call  them  to  more  activity  and  self-de- 
nial, than  would  be  required,  merely  in  translating,  print- 
ing and  distributing  Bibles. 

You  have  probably,  before  this,  learnt  the  difficulties 
we  have  experienced  from  government.  We  have  made 
every  suitable  application  for  leave  to  remain  in  this  place, 
but  all  to  no  purpose.  We  have  also  asked  permission 
to  go  to  Ceylon,  where  we  have  been  assured  of  a  kind 
reception.  But  permission  is  not  granted  us.  Now  un- 
less something  unexpected  occurs  to  favor  us,  we  must 
in  a  few  days  sail  for  England,  or  escape  the  hands,  that 
are  ready  to  be  laid  upon  us.  As  far  as  possible,  we 
have  examined  the  subject,  in  all  its  relations,  with  delib- 
eration and  prayer ;  and  we  are  fully  convinced  that  it  is 
our  duty  to  attempt  our  escape.  I  have  not  time  to  lay 
the  subject  fully  before  you,  but  I  will  only  say  that  I 
cannot  see  why  it  is  not  as  much  my  duty,  if  Providence 
should  not  otherwise  interpose,  to  escape  from  Bombay 
in  a  boat,  as  it  was  Paul's  to  escape  from  Damascus  in  a 
basTcet. 

Such  a  measure  is  in  many  respects  painful,  in  the  ex- 


GORDON    HALL.  97 

Ireme.  If  we  escape,  we  shall  literally  "  go  out  not  know- 
ing whither  we  go  or  what  shall  befal  us."  We  are  not 
insensible  that  a  thousand  evils  are  liable  to  result  from 
the  measure  we  are  now  about  to  take.  But,  blessed  be 
God,  none  of  these  things  move  us. 

It  is  no  small  part  of  our  pain  to  consider  the  unhap- 
py influence,  which  our  embarrassments  may  have  upon 
our  Christian  friends  in  America ;  and  at  the  same  time, 
it  is  no  small  part  of  our  joy  to  know,  that  so  many  of  the 
children  of  God  are  interceding  with  him  for  blessings  on 
our  souls  and  on  the  mission.  How  precious  the  conso- 
lation that  God,  in  his  wisdom  and  power,  will  eventually 
cause  every  circumstance,  to  subserve,  in  some  way,  his 
own  glory ! 

It  is  greatly  animating  to  know,  that  there  are  so 
many  young  men  devoting  themselves  to  the  work  of 
missions.  May  difficulties  only  increase  their  number 
and  their  zeal  1  If  the  churches,  if  pious  young  men 
would  only  look  at  things  as  they  appear,  by  the  light  of 
eternity,  there  would  soon  be  an  hundred  missionaries, 
where  there  is  now  but  one,  and  they  would  be  an  hun- 
dred times  as  good, — God  grant  it  for  Christ's  sake." 

Extract  of  a  letter,  to  Rev.  James  Richards,  then  a  can- 
didate for  missions,  at  Andover, 

''Bombay,  Oct.  12,  1813. 
It  was  cheering  to  my  heart  to  hear  that  the 


spirit  of  missions  has  increased,  and  that  notwithstanding 
the  deplorable  war,  you  are  so  firmly  resolved  to  come  to 
India.     But  when  I  consider  that  at  the  time  you  wrote, 
9 


98  MEMOIR  OF  GORDON  HALL. 

you  had  heard  of  none  of  the  discouraging  things  that 
have  befallen  our  mission,  I  am  often  oppressed  with  gloomy 
apprehensions,  as  to  the  influence  these  things  may 
have  in  America.  Here  lies  no  small  part  of  my  trial. 
But  I  would  trust  in  God,  to  turn  all  our  seeming  disas- 
ters into  blessings,  and  to  cause  them  to  stimulate  you  to 
a  more  inflexible  zeal  in  favor  of  the  cause.  It  certain- 
ly should  be  one  maxim  with  a  missionary,  that  he  will 
make  no  account  of  difficulties,  but  as  incentives  to  more 
vigorous  effort  and  greater  trust  in  God. 

The  embarrassments  we  experience,  will,  in  all 

probability,  soon  be  removed.  I  think  you  may  safely 
tell  all  the  missionary  brethren,  that  there  is  no  adequate 
cause  for  their  relinquishing  their  purpose." 


CHAPTER  V, 


PRIVATE  JOURNAL,  MISSIONARY  LABORS  AND  LETTERS  ETC. 
FROM  JANUARY  1,  1814,  TO  JUNE  10,  1816. 


Extracts  from  his  private  journal. 

"Jan.  1,  1814.     I  have  been  greatly  aided  this  day 

in  reflections  suited  to  the  beginning  of  the  new  year. 

In  giving  myself  away  to  God, — in  resolving  to  be  here- 
after a  more  faithful  servant  of  Christ,  and  in  praying  for 
grace,  faithfully  to  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist  among  this 
numerous  heathen  people.  As  I  cast  my  eye  through 
my  window,  over  this  pagan  city,  the  thought  sweetly  oc- 
curred to  my  mind,  God  is  able  to  make  each  of  these 
houses  a  house  of  prayer.  My  heart  [swelled  with  desire, 
that  he  would  do  it,  for  his  own  name's  sake. 

3d.  In  witnessing  an  annual  festival  of  the  Mussul- 
mauns,  I  was  grieved,  that  I  did  not  more  sensibly  en- 
ter into  the  feelings  of  David,  when  he  wept  and  was 

grieved  in  beholding  the  transgressions  of  the  wicked 

But  I  neglected  to  seek  from  God  a  due  preparation  of 
heart.  I  endeavored  to  humble  myself,  for  this  neglect. 
— O  when  will  God  cleanse  this  poor,  perverse  heart ! 

8th.     As  I  was  about  to  go  to  the  jail  to  visit  some 


100  MEMOIR    OF 

criminals  confined  there,  under  sentence  of  condemnation, 
I  fell  down  before  God,  and  besought,  with  a  tender,  feel- 
ing heart,  that  he  would  deeply  impress  my  own  mind 
with  a  sense  of  my  sins,  and  to  let  his  grace  be  sufficient 
for  me,  in  speaking  to  the  poor  criminals.  I  never  felt 
myself  sent  on  an  errand  so  solemn.  One  is  to  be  exe- 
cuted in  about  thirty -six  hours. — Found  him  ready  to 
hear; — he  seemed  much  impressed,  and  wept  bitterly. 

Conversed  with  another,  whose  sentence  is  not  yet 
passed,  but  with  no  apparent  effect.  It  was  profitable  to 
my  own  soul.  How  important,  for  the  ministers  of  Christ 
to  speak  to  sinners  every  where,  as  condemned  criminals, 
hastening  to  the  bar  of  their  final  Judge  ! 

9th.  Visited  the  prisoner  twice,  who  is  to  be  execu- 
ted to-morrow.  Both  times,  he'^appeared  greatly  affected — 
acknowledged  that  he  deserved  to  be  sent  to  hell, — that 
there  was  no  hope  but  in  Christ  alone, — that  he  had  not 
repented  and  had  no  interest  in  the  Savior.  My  own 
mind  was  deeply  solemn. — With  love  to  his  soul,  I  exhort- 
ed him  to  immediate  repentance.  I  departed  from  his 
cell,  blessing  God  for  thus  allowing  me  to  do  something 
for  him,  by  presenting  Christ  to  a  poor,  ignorant,  distress- 
ed fellow  sinner. 

10th.  Early,  visited  the  poor  prisoner,  this  day  to 
be  executed.  He  did  not  think  himself  prepared  to  die, 
and  was  in  great  distress.  Spent  nearly  an  hour  in  con- 
versation with  him  and  in  prayer.  Both  in  conversation 
and  in  prayer,  my  heart  bled  for  him. 

16th.  Much  impressed  and  benefited  by  reading 
Pilgrim's  Progress, — particularly,  the  crossing  the  river  of 
death  and  entering  the  celestial  city. — My  heart  seems 


GORDON    HALL.  101 

dissolved  in  tenderness,  and  cheered  with  the  prospect  of 
heaven. 

31st.  Alas,  the  vileness  of  my  heart!  how  much  to 
wound,  vex,  and  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit !  I  have  been  pol- 
luted with  self-complacency,  pride,  envy  and  selfishness. 
O  how  unlike  the  blessed  Jesus !  Lord,  thou  canst  make 
me  like  him. — Do  it,  and  my  lips  and  life  shall  show  forth 
thy  praise. 

Feb.  10th.  To  have  the  affections  and  the  desires 
of  the  heart  drawn  to  God  and  heaven,  as  the  needle  to 
the  pole,  to  be  always  confident  and  willing  rather  to  be  ab- 
sent from  the  body  and  present  with  the  Lord,  and  in  the 
mean  time  to  be  so  submissive  and  so  fully  inclined  to  the 
service  of  God  on  earth,  as  to  overlook  and  neglect  none 
of  our  alloted  duties, — what  is  this  but  Christian  perfec- 
tion on  earth  ?  To  what  else,  O  my  soul,  dost  thou  as- 
pire !  Let  such,  ever  more,  be  the  state  of  my  mind,  O 
thou  God  of  grace  ! 

23d.  A  day  of  fasting  and  prayer. — A  multitude  of 
subjects  for  humiliation. — Want  of  zeal  for  the  honor  of 
God,  which,  as  a  Christian,  a  minister,  and  most  of  all,  as 
an  evangelist  to  the  heathen  I  ought  eminently  to  pos- 
sess. Alas,  how  unlike  Paul — how  unlike  Christ ! — At- 
tachment to  the  world — ^undue  attention  to  the  body — in- 
dolence and  stupidity  of  mind — pride,  vanity  and  selfright- 
eousness,  despising  or  undervaluing  others  of  God's  ser- 
vants, and  magnifying  their  faults  and  indiscretions — ob- 
stinate adherence  to  selfish  plans  and  worldly  attach- 
ments, when  under  chastisements,  designed  for  my  sancti- 
fication — formality  and  hypocrisy  in  religious  worship. — 
An  unforgiving  spirit  towards  opposers. — All  these,  and 
9* 


102  MEMOIR    OP 

many  other  subjects  for  humiliation  before  God,  to  be  pon- 
dered, repented  of  and  forsaken.  Christ,  and  his  free 
grace  is  my  only  strength  and  hope. 

1  compare  my  sinful  heart  to  a  great  capital  at  inter- 
est,— in  point  of  guilt,  constantly  and  rapidly  increasing. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  grace  of  God,  I  compare  to  a 
sinking  fund,  which  pays  off  the  interest,  as  it  occurs,  and 
gradually  diminishes  the  capital  till  it  be  wholly  liquidat- 
ed." 

The  preceding  extracts  are  a  fair  specimen  of  his  pri- 
vate journal  through  the  year.  The  leading  characteris- 
tic of  which  is,  mourning  on  account  of  his  sins.  Few 
men  were  more  exemplary  and  apparently  more  free 
from  the  sins  above  mentioned,  than  Mr.  Hall ;  but  such 
was  his  habit  of  examining  his  own  heart,  and  so  sen- 
sitive to  the  first  risings  of  unholy  emotions,  that  he  de- 
tected sin  and  mourned  over  it,  when  other  Christians  less 
accustomed  to  self-examination,  would  doubt  its  exis- 
tence. 

To  Deacon ,  Woodbury,  (  Conn,) 

"  Bombay,  June  10,  1814. 
My  dear  brother, 
I  often  think  of  you  and  my  dear  Christian  friends  in 
Woodbury,  with  tender  affection  and  much  solicitude. 
Woodbury  is  a  place,  in  some  respects  dearer  to  me  than 
the  spot  that  gave  me  birth.  O  how  unlike  this  land  of 
pagan  darkness  !  When  will  this  region  of  the  shadow 
of  death  be  illuminated  with  the  Sun  of  righteousness  ? — 
When  will  the  true  church  of  Christ  be  planted  through 


GORDON    HALL.  103 

these  vast  regions  of  idolatry  ?  When  shall  our  blessed 
Savior  have  all  these  nations  as  a  seed  to  serve  him  ? — 
Blessed  be  God,  the  set  time  will  come — the  mouth  of 
Jehovah  hath  spoken  it,  the  zeal  of  the  Lord  of  hosts 
will  do  it.  Well  may  we  rejoice  in  hope,  and  give  glory 
to  God. 

When  I  compare,  as  I  frequently  do,  this  dry  and 
thirsty  land,  with  my  native  country,  that  goodly  heri- 
tage, where  so  many  cooling  streams  are  continually  flow- 
ing to  refresh  the  weary  pilgrim,  I  cannot  but  think  of 
ray  privations  ;  still,  I  by  no  means  regret  that  I  am  here 
and  not  in  Woodbury.  I  verily  thought  it  was  the  will  of 
my  Master,  that  I  should  leave  you,  and  as  yet,  I  see  no 
reason  for  changing  my  views.  No,  I  believe  the 
American  church  ought  to  multiply  her  missionaries  to 
the, heathen  an  hundred  fold.  Shall  we  not  all  think  so 
at  the  judgment  day  ?  O  what  different  views  shall  we 
then  have  of  what  we  ought  to  do !  But,  one  thing  I 
regret,  and  that  is,  my  unfaithfulness  while  among  you. 
When  through  God's  infinite  condescension,  I  had  an  op- 
portunity to  labor  for  the  precious  souls  of  the  people — 
to  invite  and  entreat  them  to  come  to  Christ,  and  to 
warn  them  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  And  though 
I  verily  believe  I  did  tell  them  what  they  must  do  to  be 
saved,  yet  alas !  how  cold,  stupid  and  indolent ! — How 
many  souls  may  be  eternally  lost,  through  my  unfaithful- 
ness !  I  might  have  spent  more  strength  in  laboring  for 
the  glory  of  Christ  and  the  salvation  of  souls.  But  that 
precious  season,  like  many  others,  has  passed  away,  and 
I  am  many  thousand  miles  from  you ;  the  most  I  can  now 
do,  is  to  remember  Woodbury  in  my  poor,  feeble  prayers. 


104  MEMOIR    OF 

I  am  ready  to  think,  that  were  I  noiv  with  you,  I  would 
unceasingly  plead  with  every  poor  sinner,  young  and  old, 
to  seek  the  Lord  without  delay.  But  oh,  the  deceitful- 
ness  of  the  human  heart !  How  ready  to  imagine,  that 
if  again  placed  in  former  circumstances,  w^e  should  do  bet- 
ter! On  the  same  principle,  the  impenitent  sinner  imag- 
ines, that  at  some  future  time  and  under  different  circum- 
stances, it  will  be  more  convenient  for  him  to  repent,  than 
now.  Thus  he  goes  on  deceiving  himself  till  death  snatch- 
es him  away  and  he  is  lost  forever.  "  Whatever  thy  hand 
findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might." — How  important 
this,  both  to  the  saint  and  the  sinner  ? 

The  dawn  of  the  gospel  upon  India  seems  to  be  bright- 
ening. The  terms  of  the  new  charter  and  the  public 
sentiment  in  England  are  far  more  favorable  to  the  prop- 
agation of  the  gospel  in  this  country,  than  formerly.  We 
have  had  many  trials  and  have  been  in  great  uncertainty, 
whether  we  should  be  allowed  to  preach  the  gospel  in  In- 
dia. We  now  strongly  hope,  that  God  has  set  before  us 
an  open  door. 

I  could  say  many  things  about  the  deplorable  state  of 
our  fellow  men,  in  this  country.  I  have  seen  the  exter- 
nal abominations  of  the  heathen,  in  their  most  horrid 
form,  but  I  think  it  more  profitable  to  contemplate  their 
spiritual  condition  and  prospects,  by  diligently  observing, 
what  God  has  declared  concerning  them,  in  his  holy 
word ;  for  idolatry  is  essentially  the  same  in  all  ages  and 
countries; — how  Christ  has  died  to  redeem  them,  and 
what  he  has  taught  us  to  do,  in  regard  to  their  salva- 
tion. 

O  ye  followers  of  Christ,  who  have  been  taught  by 


GORDON    HALL.  105        (^ 

the  Spirit  of  God  to  value  the  redemption  of  your  own 
souls,  lift  up  our  eyes  and  look  upon  the  fields — are  they 
not  white  already  to  the  harvest  ?  But  alas,  how  few  the 
laborers  !  Pray  ye  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that  he  would 
send  forth  laborers.  When  pious  young  men  offer  this 
prayer,  they  ought,  most  solemnly  to  enquire,  each  one 
for  himself,  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?"  and 
so  should  all  Christians  ask ;  for  what  can  pious  young 
men  do,  if  they  are  not  encouraged  and  aided  ? 

I  long  to  hear  how  rehgion  flourishes  among  you,  and 
how  it  is  with  those  youth  who  seemed  to  be  setting  out 
in  the  way  of  life  a  little  before  I  left  you.  O  why  can- 
not all  the  dear  youth  be  persuaded  to  choose  Christ ! 

I  would  greet,  in  Christian  love,  all  my  dear  friends 
in  Woodbury,  though  at  present  far  asunder,  yet  as  many 
as  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  shall  soon  be  gathered  to- 
gether, in  the  presence  of  God  and  the  Lamb.  Blessed 
hope  !  let  it  be  as  an  anchor  to  our  souls." 

To  Rev.  Joseph  Harvey,  Goshen,  (Conn.) 

'' Bombay,  June  10,  1814. 
-Since  my  last,  from  the  Isle  of  France,  God  has 


been  pleased  to  lead  us  through  many  trials.  They  are 
too  long  to  be  detailed  now.  It  is  now  about  fifteen 
months,  since  we  arrived  in  Bombay  the  first  time,  and 
about  six,  since  we  were  brought  back  in  custody  firom 
Cochin.  We  are  still  continued  under  a  kind  of  police 
guard.  We  have  not  the  liberty  of  sleeping  out  of  the 
magnificent  house,  which  the  governor  has  provided  for 
us.     Our  prospects  have  from  time  to  time,  been  dark,  in 


106  MEMOIR   OF 

the  extreme ;  but  God  has  caused  light  to  spring  up  in 
darkness  ;  blessed  be  his  name. 

After  all  our  discouragements,  we  now  consider  it  al- 
most certain,  that  we  shall  be  permitted  to  stay  and 
preach  the  gospel  in  Bombay.  While  here,  we  have 
been  diligent  in  acquiring  the  language  of  the  heathen, 
and  hope  soon  to  proclaim  to  tliem  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ.  Most  of  the  time,  since  we  have  been 
here,  we  have  had  a  small  number  to  meet  with  us,  twice 
a  week,  for  the  worship  of  God.  This  has  been  a  great 
comfort  to  us.  Some,  we  esteem  as  the  true  children  of 
God,  and  we  hope  that  we  have  been  useful  to  a  number. 
We  endeavor  to  be  faithful  in  this  "  little,"  and  hope  that 
God  will  soon  entrust  us  with  more.  But  if  so,  it  will 
not  be  because  we  are  worthy.  O  what  condescension  in 
God,  to  allow  such  worms  of  the  dust  to  do  any  thing  for 
the  advancement  of  his  glorious  kingdom  among  men  ! 

A  world  of  pagans  are  perishing  for  lack  of  vis- 
ion.— Their  cry  goes  up  before  the  King  of  Zion,  to 
whom  they  are  given  for  an  inheritance,  and  to  whom  so 
many  hundred  years  ago,  the  gospel  was  commanded  to 
be  preached.  O  that  this  cry  would  enter  the  heart  of 
every  Christian  !" 

The  following  paper  was  written,  at  the  request  of  a 
Christian  friend  in  India,  who  inquired  of  Mr.  Hall  the 
reasons  why  h^  performed  but  one  religious  service,  at 
his  daily  meals — and  why  in  a  sitting  posture. 

"  So  far  as  appears  from  divine  record,  our  Savior  had 
but  one  exercise  at  meals,  and  that  in  a  sitting  posture. 


GORDON    HALL.  107 

It  is  uniformly  said,  that  he  commanded  or  made  the  peo- 
ple to  sit  down,  and  that  he  took  the  food  and  gave 
thanks,  before  eating.  And  as  I  know  of  nothing  either 
in  the  Old  or  New  Testament,  which  intimates  a  differ- 
ent practice,  I  feel  obligated  to  follow  our  Savior's  exam- 
ple in  these  particulars. 

Sitting  seems  the  most  natural  and  proper  mode. — 
We  naturally  thank  a  benefactor  when  we  receive  his  gift. 
We  do  not  wait  to  consume  it  or  otherwise  appropriate  it 
to  our  use,  before  we  express  to  him  our  thanks. 

The  present  custom  of  the  Jews  is  to  seat  themselves 
around  their  food,  and  then  before  eating,  one  of  them 
audibly  repeats  their  appropriate  service.  They  have  no 
religious  service  at  the  close  of  their  meals.  It  is  highly 
probable  that  this  their  mode  of  worship,  at  their  meals, 
was  derived  from  patriarchal  times,  and  that  it  is  the  same 
which  prevailed  among  their  nation,  in  the  days  of  our 
Savior. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  favor  of  having  two  exercises, 
it  may  be  said,  on  supposition  that  our  Lord  had  but  one 
exercise,  there  can  be  no  harm  in  having  two,  as  prayer  and 
praise  are  always  becoming.  In  reply,  I  would  inquire, 
if  a  cliild  or  a  heathen,  or  any  other  ignorant  person,  on 
seeing  us  asking  a  blessing  before  eating  and  returning 
thanks  after  our  meal,  should  ask,  why  we  did  so  ?  Shall 
we  say,  we  have  scriptural  example  or  precept  for  it  ? — 
This  reply  we  cannot  give.  We  must  say,  that  our  Sav- 
ior and  his  apostles  had  but  one  exercise,  and  that  one  be- 
fore eating,  but  we  have  thought  it  better  to  add  another 
exercise,  and  to  defer  our  giving  of  thanks  to  God,  till  af- 
ter we  had  consumed  the  bounties  of  his  providence.    If 


108  MEMOIR    OF 

while  the  example  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  sanctions 
but  one  exercise,  we  by  our  practice  or  otherwise,  either 
explicitly  or  implicitly  inculcate  two,  we  inculcate  error ; 
— ^And  we  farther  inculcate  error,  if  we  in  any  way  teach 
the  duty  of  thanking  God  for  our  food  after  eating  it  and 
not  before. 

As  to  all  that  may  be  said  of  fitness  or  expediency,  it 
satisfies  my  mind  that  my  Lord  and  Master  has  left  me 
an  example.  His  method  was  the  best,  whatever  it  was, 
the  fitest  and  most  expedient.  While  we  multiply  our 
religious  services,  let  us  not  claim  for  them  a  sanction,  to 
which  they  are  not  entitled,  not  lend  our  influence  to 
propagate  error,  though  it  may  be  but  in  a  slight  degree, 
and  in  a  manner,  seemingly  unobjectionable  or  even  de- 
vout." 

From  his  first  arrival  at  Bombay,  Mr.  Hall  applied 
himself,  with  great  industry,  to  the  acquisition  of  the  vari- 
ous languages  of  the  natives,  particularly  to  the  Mahratta. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  important  dialects  of  India,  both 
in  respect  to  its  cultivation  and  the  number  of  Hindoos,  to 
whom  it  is  vernacular.  It  is  spoken  by  nearly  twelve 
millions  of  people.  In  his  study  of  the  language  he  was 
greatly  hindered  by  various  interruptions  arising  from  the 
embarrassments,  previously  detailed.  Yet  notwithstand- 
ing all  these  embarrassments,  Mr.  Hall  was  able  to 
impart  religious  instruction  to  the  heathen,  in  their  own 
language,  as  early  as  the  commencement  of  the  year  1815, 
in  less  than  two  years  after  his  arrival  in  the  country. — 
At  that  time  there  were  comparatively  few  facilities  for 
acquiring  the  Mahratta  language.  In  the  course  of  1815, 
he  translated  most  of  the  gospel  of  Matthew,  a  harmony  of 


GORDON    HALL.  109 

the  gospels  and  prepared  a  small  tract.  He  did  not  con- 
sider these  translations  perfect,  but  they  were  prepared 
for  daily  use  in  instructing  the  people. 

It  was  the  practice  of  Mr.  Hall  to  itinerate  daily 
among  the  people,  for  the  purpose  of  preaching  to  them 
the  gospel.  That  the  reader  may  see  his  employment 
from  day  to  day,  the  extracts  from  his  journal  of  a  week 
are  here  inserted. 

"  Nov.  19,  1815.  Lord's  day.  In  the  morning  I 
spoke  in  four  different  places,  to  about  seventy  persons. 
In  one  of  the  places,  where  I  had  not  been  before,  read  a 
tract  and  addressed  about  twenty. — At  Boleshwur,  a  fa- 
mous temple,  a  Bramhun  expressed  great  indignation — 
threatened,  and  told  me,  I  should  not  come  there.  I  spoke 
coolly  to  him,  and  he  soon  went  off  apparently  ashamed, 
and  I  continued  to  speak  to  a  number  of  people  who  were 
present. 

In  the  afternoon,  I  spoke  in  another  place,  where  I  had 
not  before  been,  to'about  twenty  ;  also  in  four  other  places. 
At  Momadave,  a  place  celebrated  for  temples,  and  the 
resort  of  Hindoo  worshippers,  I  held  a  longMiscussion  with 
some  Bramhuns,  in  the  midst  of  60  or  70  people.  As  I 
came  away,  a  Bramhun  told  me,  that  there  was  no  one 
there,  who  could  make  a  proper  reply  to  what  I  had  said. 
After  inquiring  where  I  lived,  he  said  he  would  bring  a 
man  who  would  reply  to  me.  I  desired  him  to  do  so. — 
Spoke  also  to  two  English  pensioners.  I  lent  a  part  of 
the  Harmony  of  the  gospels  to  a  Hindoo  to  read.  I  hav« 
spoken,  in  all,  to  about  200  this  day. 
10 


110  MEMOIR    OF 

The  natives  will  frequently  ask  questions,  so  foreign 
from  the  subject  in  hand,  and  so  foolish,  that  it  is  not  easy 
to  answer  them  "  according  to  their  folly."  One  came 
forward  to-day  in  the  midst  of  the  conversation  and  grave- 
ly asked,  "  how  many  times  the  size  of  the  ant  is  the  ele- 
phant?" 

Monday,  20.  I  have  spoken  in  six  different  places, 
and  in  all,  to  more  than  lOO  persons  to-day.  At  one 
place,  I  fell  in  with  some  Mussulmauns.  We  immediate- 
ly began  a  conversation  on  the  subject  of  religion.  I  told 
them  they  were  right  in  saying,  there  is  but  one  God,  and 
wrong,  in  not  receiving  Jesus  Christ  as  their  Savior ;  that 
if  they  continued  to  reject  this  Mediator,  God  would  cer- 
tainly reject  them.  I  told  them  how  Christ  had  loved  us, 
and  given  himself  to  die  for  us.  They  replied,  how  can  this 
be  true  ? — Where  is  it  written  ?  I  told  them,  in  the  Bi- 
ble. They  answered  that  this  is  not  written.  Here,  a 
Jew,  who  had  fallen  in  with  us,  with  about  20  others,  re- 
plied to  the  Mussulmauns,  that  his  (the  Jew's)  Bible  and 
mine  were  the  same.  Upon  this,  a  new  discussion  arose 
between  the  children  of  Sarah  and  Hagar,  and  as  it  was 
time  for  me  to  be  in  another  place,  I  took  my  leave  and 
went  on.  In  the  place  to  which  I  next  went,  I  spoke  to 
50  or  60.  Part  of  the  time,  a  few  mocked  and  were 
noisy.  It  is  one  part  of  a  missionary's  trials,  rightly  to 
bear  the  impertinence,  contradictions,  insolence  and  re- 
proaches of  men,  who  are  sunk  to  the  lowest  degradation, 
both  mental  and  moral.  He  needs  to  have  bound  upon 
his  hand  and  stamped  upon  his  heart  the  admonitions 
of  the  Apostle, — "  The  servant  of  the  Lord  must  not 
strive,  &fc,'' 


GORDON    HALL.  Ill 

Tuesday,  21.  To-day  I  have  spoken  in  sever- 
al places  to  about  100  persons.  Six  or  eight  of  them 
were  Jews.  In  one  place,  I  addressed  a  considerable 
number  in  front  of  a  large  temple,  where  a  woman  was 
fulfilling  a  vow  to  her  idol,  by  giving  it  half  a  dozen  small 
lamps,  ghee,  cocoa  nuts,  rice  and  flowers,  &tc.  I  after- 
wards read  and  expounded  a  tract,  which  I  have  just  pre- 
pared. It  was  at  a  place  where  I  have  seated  myself 
about  sun  set  every  evening,  for  a  month  past.  As  I 
proceeded,  some  agitation  arose  among  the  people :  and 
one  or  two  cried  out,  "  come  away  from  him — come 
away."  But  the  greater  part  were  disposed  to  remain 
and  listen  to  the  word.  Something  like  this  has  taken 
place  for  two  or  three  days  past,  when  I  have  been  at 
the  temples.  I  view  it  as  an  encouragement, — as  a  proof 
that  they  understand  me,  and  feel  some  disquietude  in 
their  consciences.  One,  blustering  up,  said  to  me,  "  How 
many  months  have  you  been  preaching  to  these  people, 
and  nobody  has  regarded  you  ?" 

On  my  return  home,  I  fell  in  with  some  persons  cal- 
led sadoos,  i.  e.  washed  from  sin.  I  spoke  to  them  of 
the  blood  of  Christ,  which  alone  cleanses  from  all  sin. 

Wednesday,  2^.  Walked  out  as  usual  at  4  o'clock, 
P.  M.  and  spoke  to  about  120  people.  At  a  small  tem- 
ple in  the  suburb,  as  I  was  reasoning  with  the  officiat- 
iiig  priest  of  idolatry,  he  replied,  that  it  was  so  through- 
out the  country,  and  if  they  would  throw  away  their  idols 

at  Momadave,  he  would  throw  away  his. ^At  another 

place  where  I  addressed  the  people,  there  were  several 
hundreds  of  wooden  gods  under  one  small  shed,  which 
served  as  a  temple.     Here  scores  of  sheep  are  at  some 


112  MEMOIR   OF 

seasons  offered,  in  sacrifice  to  these  wooden  gods.  A 
sheep  is  first  bought  fi:om  the  drove,  at  firom  one  to  three 
rupees,  and  led  to  the  house  of  the  person,  who  is  to  offer 
it.  Select  guests  assemble.  Musicians  are  employed. — • 
The  victim  is  consecrated  by  besmearing  its  head  with 
paint ; — it  is  also  compelled  to  drink  of  the  tard  (a  kind 
of  hquor  extracted  from  the  palm.)  They  then  prostrate 
themselves  before  the  victim,  with  the  same  reverence 
with  which  they  bow  before  their  gods.  In  the  mean 
time,  three  or  four  females  prepare  each  of  them,  two  or 
three  earthen  pots,  one  placed  upon  the  mouth  of  the 
other,  all  whimsically  painted,  and  in  the  topmost  ones 
are  lighted  torches.  Thus  all  things  being  ready,  the 
band  of  music  take  the  front ;  (for  the  heathen  always 
sound  a  trumpet  before  them,  when  they  perform  any 
special  service)  the  females,  with  their  pots  and  torches 
upon  their  heads  are  next  in  rank,  and  a  confused  train 
of  men,  women  and  children  with  the  victim,  complete 
the  procession,  marching  off  to  the  temple.  The  victim  is 
brought  in  front  of  the  idol,  where  the  same  ceremomes 
are  performed,  as  at  the  house  of  the  sacrificer.  After 
this  the  head  of  the  victim  is  severed  from  the  body  and 
placed  before  the  idol,  its  liver  taken  out  and  offered  in 
the  same  manner.  Then  the  procession  return  and  feast 
upon  the  flesh.  These  sacrifices  are  usually  in  fulfil- 
ment of  some  vow,  which  has  been  made  to  the  idols. 

Thursday,  23.  To-day  have  spoken  in  five  or  six 
places,  to  about  100  of  the  heathen.  1  saw  a  man  drag- 
ging out  of  a  house,  a  woman,  by  her  hair,  whom  I  sup- 
posed to  be  his  wife.  Similar  instances  of  abuse  almost 
daily  occur. 


GORDON  HALL.  113 

Rendered  medical  assistance  to  a  woman.  Applica- 
tion for  such  services  are  not  unfrequent,  and  I  am  happy 
to  say,  that  ia  some  instances,  I  have  rendered  essential 
benefit.  Many  of  the  people  perish  miserably  for  want  of 
medical  attendance. 

Friday,  24.  To-day  have  spoken  in  several  place? 
to  more  than  100  people. — From  8  to  9  o'clock  in  the 
evening  1  spent  in  the  house  of  a  heathen,  where  I  read 
and  explained  a  tract  to  a  small  company. 

Saturday,  25.  This  day  addressed  about  70  persons  ; 
and  in  the  course  of  the  past  week  have  spoken  to  piore 
than  800  persons.  Blessed  be  God  for  the  privilege  !  I 
have  noticed  a  few  persons,  who  seemed  desirous  to 
hear  all  I  had  to  say  ;  so  much  so,  that  they  have  been 
constant  at  the  stated  place,  to  which  I  have  daily  repair- 
ed, and  some  have  even  followed  me  from  one  place  to 
another.  But,  alas,  when  I  fix  my  eyes  only  on  the 
people,  all  is  dark  as  night  ;  but  whenever,  by  faith,  I 
am  enabled  to  look  to  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  all  is  light 
as  noon.  How  great,  how  precious  are  the  promises  ! 
Blessed  is  he  that  can  trust  in  them." 

Mr.  Hall  was  in  the  habit  of  spending  an  hour  or 
more,  in  the  morning  before  breakfast,  in  instructing  the 
heathen  in  the  vicinity  of  their  temples,  or  by  the  way 
side,  wherever  he  found  them  in  his  walks.— From  9,  A. 
M.  to  3,  P.  M.  was  usually  employed  in  study. — From  4, 
to  7,  P.  M.  he  devoted  to  visiting  schools  and  instructing 
the  people. 

The  same  course  of  labor  has  been  and  is  still  pur- 
sued by  other  missionaries  at  that  station.  The  most 
*10 


114  MEMOIR  OF 

favorable  seasons  for  communicating  instruction  are  morn- 
ing and  evening.  At  these  seasons,  multitudes  of  people 
repair  to  their  various  temples  of  idolatry  to  present  their 
morning  and  evening  sacrifice.  The  missionaries  are 
not  indeed  permitted,  as  a  general  thing,  to  enter  these 
temples ;  that  would  be  deemed  a  high  affront  to  their 
gods..  The  place  of  concourse  is  not  within  the  walls  of 
the  temples,  but  in  the  yard  or  enclosure,  in  which  they 
are  situated,  or  in  the  open  porches  or  virandas  encircling 
the  temples.  In  these  porches,  or  under  the  shadow 
of  a  tent  or  trees  connected  with  the  temples,  the  Bram- 
huns  are  in  the  habit  of  reading  and  explaining  their  shas- 
ters  to  the  people.  To  these  consecrated  places,  the 
missionaries  often  resort  at  the  usual  seasons  of  daily  con- 
vocation, with  the  certainty  of  finding  an  assembly.  The 
temple  is  the  place  to  which  the  Hindoo  generally  repairs 
when  he  wishes  to  spend  an  hour  in  idleness  or  in  hear- 
ing the  news  of  the  day. 

Extract  of  a  letter  to  Rev.  D,  O.  Gristvold. 

"  Bombay,  May  24,  1815. 
My  dear  Griswold, 

For  a  fortnight  past,  we  have  been  rejoicing  aloud  at 
the  good  tidings  of  peace,  signed  by  the  Commissioners 
at  Ghent.  We  regret,  however,  that  there  is  the  least 
reason  to  fear  that  it  will  not  be  ratified,  or  if  ratified,  the 
American  trade  with  India  will  not  be  revived.  But  we 
are  sure  of  this,  that  Zion's  King  will  see  to  it,  that  the 
stipulations  are  such  as  will  best  advance  his  own  cause. 

1  will  tell  you  how  I  am  employed.     I  read 

Hebrew  before  breakfast,  which  is  at  8  o'clock, — After 


GORDON    HALL.  115 

breakfast  some  miscellaneous  reading, — then  a  portion  of 
Greek  for  translating. — About  12  o'clock  my  Bramhun 
comes. — I  spend  three  hours  with  him,  part  of  the  time 
in  translating,  and  the  rest  in  reading  native  books.  We 
dine  at  3  o'clock,  then  spend  about  an  hour  in  reading 
and  transcribing  the  M ahratta  which  I  have  translated. — 
From  about  half  past  four  to  eight  in  the  evening,  I  spend 
daily  among  the  heathen,  in  attempting  to  give  them  some 
knowledge  of  Christ.  I  speak  sometimes  to  one,  five, 
ten,  fifteen  or  twenty.  Sometimes  in  the  street,  some- 
times in  their  houses,  and  sometimes  at  their  temples  and 
other  holy  places.  Last  Sabbath,  I  sat  upon  the  floor  in 
a  native  hut  and  read  something  like  a  sermon  to  about 
15  persons." 

All  that  I  have  to  say,  at  present,  that  is  encourag- 
ing is,  that  on  every  side,  I  behold  a  multitude  of  immor- 
tal beings,  who  must  soon  be  converted  to  Christ  or  be 
lost. — To  some  of  these  I  can  speak  every  day — and  God 
peradventure  will  convert  them. — Encouragement  enough  ! 
I  am  willing  thus  to  spend  and  be  spent — it  is  the  great- 
est of  all  privileges, — to  me,  the  best  of  all  employ- 
ments. 

Extracts  from  a  letter  to  Rev.  SamuelJ.  Mills. 

^^  Bombay,  June  7,  1815. 
My  dear  Mills, 

It  is  my  rule  to  spend  about  three  hours  daily,  in 

preaching  Christ  to  the  heathen As  yet,  we 

have  only  made  a  small  beginning — how  great  is  the  ex- 
tent of  this  work  !  What  could  two  ministers  do  amidst 
the  whole  population  of  Connecticut,  had  that  population 


116  MEMOIR    OF. 

never  heard  of  Christ,  and  not  only  so,  but  had  been  ed- 
ucated in  the  principles  of  idolatry,  and  grown  up  with 
every  sentiment  and  habit  hostile  to  the  purity  of  the 
gospel.  What  could  two  ministers  do  among  such  a 
vast,  bewildered  multitude  ?  But  such  is  our  situation, 
with  this  difference  however,  that  this  great  multitude 
stand  thick  around  us.  We  can  go  to  the  most  remote 
of  them  in  two  hours.  And  there  is  nothing  to  prevent 
the  missionary  from  preaching  constantly  to  them  if  he 
had  strength.  On  this  little  spot,  is  there  not  a  great 
work  to  be  done,  to  say  nothing  of  other  millions  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  ? 

As  yet,  there  is  not  in  India,  owe  Protestant  mission- 
ary to  a  million  of  heathen  1  yet  many  Christians  at 
home  seem  to  think  that  India  is  furnished  with  ministers 
and  Bibles.  Whence  this  delusion  ?  A  delusion  so  fa- 
tal to  the  souls  of  the  perishing  heathen But 

difficulties  are  in  the  way — discouragements  arise.  True, 
and  where  has  Christ  encouraged  us  to  expect  the  con- 
trary ?  Let  difficulties,  let  discouragements  arise — let 
them  present  their  most  formidable  front — let  them  be 
multiplied  and  increased,  no  matter  to  what  extent ;  still 
not  to  press  forward  in  the  work  is  infidelity,  and  relax- 
ation in  exertion  is  desertion  of  the  cause. 

Such,  brother  Mills,  is  the  doctrine  I  would  preach, 
were  I  among  the  churches. — Such  the  doctrine,  I  be- 
lieve, every  minister  of  the  gospel  ought  to  preach,  till 
every  child  of  Adam  has  heard  the  good  news  of  salvation 
through  a  crucified  Redeemer. 

My  dear  brother,  I  want  to  bear  all  you  have  done  and 
intend  to  do, — and  how  many  missionaries  are  likely  to 


GORDON    HALL.  117 

be  found.  It  is  one  maxim  of  the  excellent  Moravians 
never  to  exhort  men  to  become  missionaries.  But  vv^here 
did  these  good  people  get  this  maxim  ?  It  was  the  last 
duty  which  our  ascended  Lord  enjoined  upon  his  church, 
to  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature. — Why  not  ex- 
hort men  to  perform  this  duty  as  well  as  any  other  ?  Is 
the  duty  so  small  and  unimportant,  that  Christ  did  not  in- 
tend men  should  be  exhorted  to  the  performance  of  it  ? 
My  friend,  let  me  charge  you  to  leave  nothing  undone, 
which  is  possible  to  be  done,  for  the  cause  of  Christ 
among  the  heathen." 

To  Rev.  D.  O.  Gristvold, 

"  Bombay,  Nov.  1815. 
1  have  learnt  through  some  periodical,  that  there 


has  been  a  revival  of  religion  in  the  town  where  you  are. 
Blessed  tidings  !  When  will  such  a  work  be  seen  in  In- 
dia ?  Alas,  alas !  you  cannot  well  imagine  what  a  drea- 
ry land  this  is !  O  the  abominations,  that  deluge  the 
country !  Never  did  any  land  present  a  more  inviting 
field  for  advancing  the  glory  of  God  in  publishing  the  gos- 
pel of  his  grace.  I  bless  God  that  he  ever  put  it  into  my 
heart  to  come  here.  O  that  I  may  have  grace  to  be  a 
faithful  laborer  in  this  field,  which  in  such  a  wonderfld 
manner,  God  has  given  us. 

I  can  now  speak  the  Mahratta  language  with  consid- 
erable ease,  and  daily  spend  about  three  hours  in  preach- 
ing Christ  to  heathen,  Jews,  Mohammedans  and  Papists. 
I  enjoy  perfect  health,  and  am  able  to  labor  hard  about 
sixteen  hours  from  the  twenty-four." 


118  MEMOIR  OF 

About  the  close  of  1815,  Mr.  Hall  and  Mr.  New- 
ell jointly  wrote  a  tract,  called  The  Conversion]  of  the 
World.  It  was  first  published  by  the  American  Board ; — 
it  has  passed  through  two  or  three  large  editions,  in  this 
country,  and  at  least  one  in  England.  This  tract  has 
not  only  had  an  extensive  circulation,  but  it  is  believed, 
has  contributed  more  than  any  modern  production  of  the 
same  size,  to  sustain  and  carry  forward  the  missionary 
cause. 

Extracts  from  his  Journal, 

"  Apr.  1816.  Lord's  day  morning  at  8  o'clock,  I  went 
to  the  sea  shore,  as  usual  for  some  time  past,  where  the 
Mussulmauns  bury  and  the  Hindoos  burn  their  dead.* 
When  I  arrived,  there  were  50  or  60  Hindoos  seated  on 
the  beach,  at  a  small  distance  from  the  funeral  pile  of 
their  deceased  friend.  I  found  it  easy  to  enter  into  con- 
versation with  them.  I  spoke  freely  of  "  the  great  salva- 
tion." I  exhorted  them  to  embrace  the  free  offer  of  par- 
don, through  a  crucified  Redeemer,  that  they  might  die 
in  peace.     They  heard  with  deep  seriousness. 

I  then  walked  a  few  rods  and  sat  down  under  a  shed, 
where  I  spoke  to  15  or  20  persons.  A  few  yards  from 
me,  a  Mussulmaun  burial  soon  took  place.  About  the 
same  time  came  a  Hindoo  procession,  bringing  a  dead 
man  to  his  burning.     Shortly  after,  came  another  Hindoo 

*  This  is  literally  a  place  of  sculls.  Nearly  all  that  die  on 
the  island  are  carried  to  this  place.  Hardly  an  hour  in  the  day 
passes,  in  which  different  companies  are  not  on  the  spot,  either 
burying  or  burning  their  dead,  according  as  their  custom  re- 
quires. 


GORDON    HALL.  119 

procession,  with  music,  bringing  the  dead  body  of  a  Gos- 
avee,  (a  class  of  Hindoo  devotees.)     According  to  the 
custom  of  this  cast,  he  was  to  be  buried.     The  grave  was 
dug  in  a  circular  form,  about  three   feet  in  diameter,  and 
four  feet  deep.     The  body  was  then  deposited,  in  a  sit- 
ting posture,  with  the  legs  locked  together  and  drawn  up 
close  under  the  body.     This  being  the  posture  in  which 
this  sort  of  people  sit,  at  their   devotions.     The   hands 
were  closed  upon  the  breast,  and  in  them  the  ling  was 
carefully  placed.     The  ling  is  a  significant  emblem  of 
what  decency  forbids  to  be  named.     Such  was  the  deity 
to  which  this  poor  deluded  creature  had  devoted  his  whole 
life.  Shocked  at  the  awful  spectacle,  my  thoughts  rushed 
forward  to  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  and  to  the  judg- 
ment of  all  men.     I  seemed  to  see  this  deluded  mortal 
rising  from  his  grave  with  this  testimony  of  his  guilt  and 
shame.      O    to   what    everlasting   shame   and  contempt 
must  such  idolaters   awake  at  the  resurrection.     Alas ! 
how  countless  the  multitude  of   such  guilty,    untaught 
heathens  !  Could  Christians  at  home  behold  but  one  scene 
like  this,  what  further  need  could  there  be  of  exhortation  ? 
Would  not  every  friend  of  Jesus  in  the  fulness  of  his  heart 
exclaim,  Let  me  give — let  me   do  something  for  the  sal- 
vation of  the  heathen.    Would  not  all  cry  aloud  to  the  Re- 
deemer, Lord,  send  forth  more  laborers  into  thy  harvest — 
Would  not  every  pious  youth  rejoice  to  say,   Here  am  I, 
Lord,  send  me  ?     But  such  moving  scenes  are  as  real 
and  affecting,  as  though  every  Christian  saw  them  with 
his  own  eyes.     O  why  are  they  so  slow  to  believe,  to  feel, 
and  to  act  ? 

I  addressed  the  people  who  were  attending  on  this 


120  MEMOIR    OF 

interment  as  well  as  I  was  able,  and  then  walked  to  anoth- 
er spot  where  a  body  was  burning.*  There  I  spoke  to  5 
or  6  persons,  and  then  withdrew  from  the  dismal  scene. 
Dismal  indeed ;  for  here  5,  10,  20,  or  30  of  my  fellow 
mortals  are  daily  brought,  to  be  burned  or  buried.  These 
all  die  in  the  ignorance  and  guilt  of  idolatry,  or  the  blind 
votaries  of  the  false  prophet.  And  for  how  many  gener- 
ations has  this  broad  stream  of  human  life  been  flowing 
into  eternity  !  and  how  long  shall  it  continue  to  flow  un- 
mingled  with  the  hope  of  eternal  life  ? 

9th.  To-day  I  have  preached  to  more  than  100  persons. 
In  one  place,  as  I  was  sitting  in  an  obscure  heathen  tem- 
ple, and  reasoning  with  some  men  about  worshipping  a 
stone  for  their  god,  a  decent  looking  Mussulmaun  came 
up,  and  after  listening  a  while,  desired  to  speak.  But  he 
no  sooner  began  to  display  his  zeal  against  idols,  than  the 
Hindoos  asked   him,  why  he  worshipped  the  tombs  of  the 

*  The  manner  in  which  the  Hindoos  burn  their  dead  is, 
first  they  erect  four  posts,  in  the  ground,  as  the  corners  of  the 
pile,  which  is  generally,  for  an  aduh,  six  feet  long  and  three 
broad. 

t  The  wood  is  placed  between  these  posts,  bearers  being  laid 
crosswise  between  every  layer,  to  keep  the  pile  loose.  When 
about  two  feet  high,  the  corpse  is  laid  upon  the  pile. — Bear- 
ers of  wood  are  placed  on  each  side  the  corpse,  and  wood 
laid  on  these  bearers,  generally  two  feet  above  it ;  so  that  the 
corpse  is  nearly  hidden  in  the  midst  of  the  pile.  After  thepilo 
is  thus  constructed,  dry  leaves  are  thrown  over  it,  and  it  is  fre- 
quently saturated  with  oil.  Fire  is  then  applied.  The  com- 
pany of  relatives  and  friends  sit  down  by  the  pile  till  it  is  all 
consumed,  stirring  the  fire  and  adjusting  the  brands  as  the 
case  may  require.  It  generally  requires  from  three  to  six  houra 
to  reduce  the  whole  to  ashes.  These  they  frequently  gather 
up  and  throw  into  the  sea. 


GORDON    HALL.  121 

dead,  which  are  only  full  of  bones  and  all  uncleanness  ? 
The  Hindoos  boldly  attack  the  Mussulmauns  on  this 
ground  ;  and  the  latter  certainly  do  seem  to  worship 
tombs  with  as  much  devotion  as  the  former  worship  idols. 

I  soon  resumed  the  conversation ;  and  as  I  spoke  of 
the  Son  of  God,  the  Redeemer,  the  haughty  Mussulmaun 
turned  away  with  disdain. 

Almost  in  the  centre  of  the  road,  near  the  same  spot, 
were  several  stones,  about  the  size  of  a  goose  egg,  with 
some  red  coloring  stuff  upon  them.  These  were  Hindoo 
deities.  I  unconsciously  stepped  upon  one  of  these  strange 
gods,  as  I  suppose  fifty  other  persons  do,  every  day.  A  by- 
stander apprised  me  of  what  I  had  done,  without  seeming 
however  to  expect  an  apology.  Alas  !  into  what  incon- 
ceivable ignorance  and  degradation  are  such  idolaters 
/plunged  !  I  should  not  know  how  to  give  the  entire 
character  of  the  Hindoos  in  a  few  words  better  than  by 
saying  that — ''  they  are  ready  to  believe  any  thing  but 
the  truth,  to  ivorship  any  thing  but  their  Maker,  and  to 
do  any  thing,  but  that  which  is  good,"  ^ 

Extracts  from  his  Journal  of  1816. 

"  May  24.  To-day  was  performed  the  consecration 
of  their  idols  and  a  small  temple,  which  was  also  dedicat- 
ed to  their  worship.  The  three  gods  whose  images  were 
consecrated  were  Ram,  Hunumunt  and  Mahadave.— ^ 
The  first  thing  was  to  ascertain,  by  astrological  calcula- 
tion, the  day  and  hour  most  propitious  for  bringing  these 
several  deities  to  reside  in  their  respective  images.  From 
12  to  4  P.  M.  were  declared  to  be  the  most  propi- 
11 


122  MEMOIR    OF 

tious  hours.  It  would  be  useless  were  it  practicable,  to 
describe  minutely  the  very  numerous  and  foolish  ceremo- 
nies, which  were  performed.  During  the  whole  scene, 
there  was  not  the  least  appearance  of  solemnity  ;  but  on 
the  contrary,  in  the  midst  of  the  service  the  Bramhuns 
fell  into  a  quarrel.* 

June  10.  To-day,  no  schools  are  open  among  the 
natives,  and  business  is  generally  suspended.  The  cause 
of  this  is  an  eclipse  of  the  moon,  which  took  place  this 
morning.  In  expectation  of  this  event,  the  people  spent 
the  night  in  bathing  in  the  sea  and  in  gloomy  watchfiil- 
ness.  This  is  followed  by  a  day  of  fasting  and  alms-giv- 
ing. 

As  to  the  cause  of  the  eclipse,  the  Jotish,  or  philo- 
sophical shasters  of  the  Hindoos,  and  their  D'hurnij  or 
sacred  shasters,  are,  as  in  many  other  cases,  entirely  at  is- 
sue. The  former  assign  the  true  cause,  [and  teach  how 
they  may  be  calculated,]  the  latter  ascribe  it  to  a  cause 
as  ridiculous,  as  it  is  fabulous.  They  say,  that  many 
years  ago,  when  the  sea  was  churned  by  the  demons  and 
the  gods,  in  order  to  recover  the  treasures  of  which  the 
earth  had  been  plundered,  among  other  precious  things 
that  were  restored,  the  Umrit  and  the  Daroo  were  ob- 
tained.    The  former  was  the  elixir  vitce,  the  food  of  the 

*  The  Hindoo  religion  does  not  require,  and  much  less 
does  it  receive,  in  its  most  important  rites,  the  service  of  the 
heart.  Hence  nothing  is  more  common  than  to  see  w^orship- 
pers  in  their  prostration  before  their  gods,  manifest  an  entire 
dissipation  of  mind. 


GORDON    HALL.  123 

gods,  the  latter*  was  an  intoxicating  liquor,  fit  only  for 
demons. 

When  the  recovered  treasures  were  divided,  a  tre- 
mendous quarrel  commenced  between  the  gods  and  the 
demons.  At  length  however  each  party  was  duly  seated, 
the  one  to  receive  the  Umrit,  the  other,  the  Daroo.  At 
this  juncture  an  arch-demon,  named  Rahoo,  assumed  the 
appearance  of  a  beautiful  female,  and  insinuated  himself 
into  the  company  of  the  gods. 

The  sun  and  moon  were  present  on  this  occasion,  and 
.suspected  the  fraud,  but  nothing  could  be  done.  Each 
one  had  received  his  portion  of  the  Umrit,  and  was  to 
hold  it  in  his  hand,  till  the  word  of  command,  for  drinking 
it,  should  be  given.  But  Rahoo,  eager  to  secure  his  im- 
mortality, in  violation  of  the  rules  of  the  gods,  hastily 
drank  his  portion,  without  ceremony.  Upon  this  the  sun 
and  moon  immediately  proclaimed  him  a  demon  in  dis- 
guise ;  and  instantly  his  head  was  severed  from  his  body, 
by  the  enraged  gods.  But  the  Umrit  draught  had  secur- 
ed his  immortality.  And  thenceforth  he  existed  not  as 
an  individual,  but  as  two  distinct  beings.  The  severed 
head,  which  constituted  one  distinct  being,  retained  the 
original  name  Rahoo,  the  headless  trunk,  another  being, 
under  the  name  of  Katoo,  The  former  became  the  im- 
placable enemy  of  the  sun,  the  latter  the  enemy  of  the 

*  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  Daroo,  the  common  word  in 
Mahratta  for  intoxicating  liquors,  as  also  for  gunpowder,  is  rep- 
resented, with  so  much  truth,  even  in  the  early  ages  of  Hindoo 
mythology,  as  fit  only  for  demons.  Happy  would  it  have  been 
for  the  Hindoos  and  for  the  world,  had  it  never  been  recovered 
from  the  ruins  of  the  old  world,  or  had  the  demons  forever  ap- 
propriated it,  exdusivdy,  to  their  own  use. 


124  MEMOIR   OF 

moon.  Sometimes  Katoo,  in  revenge,  seizes  upon  the 
moon,  and  for  a  time  swallows  it,  which  of  course  causes 
an  eclipse.  In  like  manner  Rahoo  sometimes  falls  upon 
the  sun  and  occasions  his  obscurations.  In  this  way,  the 
Hindoos  almost  universally  account  for  eclipses.* 

*  The  compiler  has  seen  almost  the  whole  population  of 
Bombay  simultaneously  calling  upon  the  gods,  with  the  great- 
est apparent  distress,  to  deliver  the  moon  in  an  eclipse  from 
the  grasp  of  Katoo.  And  when  the  moon  emerged  from  her 
ecHpse,  their  prayers  were  turned  into  acclamations  of  joy. 

He  once  expostulated  with  a  learned  Bramhun,  who  well 
understood  the  cause  of  eclipses,  and  enquired  why  he  did  not 
have  compassion  and  deliver  the  populace  from  their  fears,  by 
telling  the  true  cause  of  the  phenomenon.  O  said  he,  how 
can  they  understand  it?  They  cannot  believe  that  the  sun  and 
moon  are  globes,  much  less  can  they  be  convinced  that  the 
earth  revolves.  They  will  have  some  opinion  on  the  subject 
of  eclipses,  when  they  see  them  take  place,  and  we  may  as  well 
tell  them  what  they  can  understand, — then  their  minds  will  be 
at  rest.  Hence  one  of  the  leading  principles  of  the  Hindoo 
religion,  JVo  matter  what  a  man  believes,  if  he  he  sincere. 

From  the  above  account,  the  reader  may  see  the  influence, 
which  the  mission  schools  are  exerting  in  overthrowing  the  fa- 
bric of  Hindooism.  Let  the  children  in  these  schools  be  taught 
the  leading  principles  of  astronomy,  to  saj  nothing  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  the  Bramhun  will  teach  in  vain  the  fable  of  Ra^^ 
hoc  and  Katoo, 


CHAPTER  VI. 


LETTERS,  JOURNAL  ETC.  FROM  JULY  1810,  TO  APRIL  18,  1817. 


Mr.  Hall  was  one  of  the  first  members  of  the  Society 
of  Inquiry  respecting  missions  in  the  Theological  Sem- 
inary at  Andover.  He  looked  upon  this  Society  and 
others  of  a  similar  character,  in  Colleges  and  in  various 
Seminaries,  in  our  country,  as  the  nurseries  of  mission- 
aries for  the  heathen. 

The  two  following  letters  were  addressed  to  the  So- 
ciety at  Andover,  and  published  some  years  since.  As 
they  are  upon  the  same  topic,  and  addressed  particularly 
to  candidates  for  the  ministry,  they  are  placed  in  imme- 
diate succession,  though  they  were  written  in  different 
years. 

"  Bombay,  June  19,  1815. 
Dearly  beloved  Brethren, 
When  I  attempt  to  say  any  thing  on  the  subject  of 
missions,  I  am  often  greatly  perplexed  and  distressed. — 
This  does  not  arise  from  a  belief  in  the  maxim  of  the 
worthy  Moravians,  "  that  none  should  be  persuaded  to 
engage  in  Missions.'*     Believing,  as  I  cannot  but  believe, 
11* 


126  MEMOIR   OP 

that  Christ  has  given  it  in  perpetual  charge  to  his  disci- 
ples, to  see  that  his  gospel  is  preached  in  all  the  world, 
to  every  creature,  and  that  this  is  an  indispensable  duty 
binding  upon  every  individual  Christian  according  to  the 
rank,  which  he  holds  in  the  church,  I  can  see  no  good 
reason  why  they  should  not  be  persuaded  to  the  perform- 
ance of  this  duty  as  well  as  any  other.  No  other  duty  in- 
volves, to  an  equal  extent,  both  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
happiness  of  men.  In  the  same  degree  in  which  the  du- 
ty is  performed,  will  the  consequences  be  happy  ;  and  so 
far  as  the  duty  is  neglected,  in  the  same  degree,  that  ne- 
glect brings  guilt  to  Christians,  dishonor  to  God,  and  ruin 
to  the  souls  of  men.  Why,  then,  should  we  not  persuade 
Christians  to  the  performance  of  this  duty? 

No  :  my  embarrassment  is  of  very  different  origin. 
When  I  advance  any  of  the  arguments,  which  show  that 
Christians  ought  immediately  to  use  the  proper,  the  ade- 
quate means  for  evangelizing  the  whole  world,  and  that 
it  is  the  duty  of  every  individual  without  exception,  to  ex- 
ert himself  with  zeal,  activity,  and  faith,  proportionate  to 
the  magnitude  of  the  work ;  every  argument  and  motive 
seems  like  telling  those  to  whom  I  write,  that  they  need 
to  be  convinced  that  the  Son  of  God  has  died  for  sinners, 
that  there  is  salvation  in  no  other,  and  that  the  salvation 
of  souls  is  a  matter  of  great  importance.  In  a  word,  it 
seems  like  telling  them  that  they  are  not  Christians. 

For  what  is  it  to  be  a  Christian  ?  Not  merely  to 
bear  the  name  of  Christ,  but  to  have  his  divine  image  im- 
pressed on  our  souls  and  manifested  in  our  lives.  Jesus 
had  a  heart,  which  embraced  every  human  being  with  a 
love,  that  made  him  willing  to  suffer  poverty  and  dis- 


GORDON    HALL.  127 

grace,  anguish  and  death,  for  their  salvation.  And  how 
can  his  heart  be  Hke  the  heart  of  Jesus,  how  can  he  be  a 
Christian,  who  does  not  love  all  mankind,  with  a  love, 
which  makes  him  willing  to  suffer  the  loss  of  all  temporal 
things,  and  even  to  lay  down  his  life  if  thereby  he  can 
promote  the  salvation  of  his  fellow  men  ?  That  such  is 
the  duty  of  Christians,  is  a  truth  as  conspicuous  in  the 
Scriptures  as  the  sun  in  the  heavens. 

How  comes  it  to  pass  then,  that  a  duty  so  great,  so 
solemn,  and  so  plain,  has  been  so  far  overlooked 
and  neglected  by  the  great  mass  of  Christians  ?  This  is 
a  phenomenon  in  religion,  which,  in  some  respects,  strong- 
ly resembles  that  monster  of  irreligion  and  barbarity, 
which  the  progress  of  moral  illumination  has  almost  ex- 
ploded from  the  Christian  world.  Now,  when  the  heart 
even  of  the  unprincipled  ruffian  recoils  at  the  enormities  of 
injustice  and  barbarity  of  that  human  traffic,  which  has  long 
filled  all  Africa  with  lamentation  and  wo,  how  hard  is  it 
for  us  to  believe,  that,  a  few  years  ago,  all  Christian  na- 
tions were  the  advocates  of  this  infamous  commerce  in 
human  beings  !  But  such  has  been  the  progress  of  light, 
and  such  the  revolution  of  conscience  on  this  subject,  that 
now  should  any  man  advocate  the  slave-trade,  and  at  the 
same  time  profess  to  be  a  follower  of  Jesus,  he  would  be 
esteemed  a  prodigy  of  inconsistency. 

But  such  great  changes  cannot  take  place  without 
great  exertions.  Great  effects  require  powerful  causes. — 
When  a  great  nation  is  to  be  aroused  to  a  sense  of  its  du- 
ty— ^when  the  slave-trade — a  commerce  participated  by 
all  Christendom,  bringing  wealth  and  luxury  to  thousands, 
and  confirmed  by  the  lapse  of  centuries, — when  such  a 
commerce  is  to  be  annihilated,  a  clarkson  must  come 


128  MEMOIR    OF 

forward.  He  must  consecrate  his  life  and  his  all  to  the 
object.  He  must  study  day  and  night,  explore  every 
corner  of  the  kingdom  for  materials,  write  his  pamphlets 
and  his  books — print  them  at  his  own  expense — distrib- 
ute them  with  his  own  hand,  and  employ  all  possible 
means  for  engaging  individuals  and  the  public  in  favor  of 
the  object.  Societies  and  associations  must  every  where 
be  formed  on  purpose  for  devising  ways  and  means  of  en- 
lightening and  persuading  the  public  mind,  and  the  ob- 
ject must  be  pursued  with  increasing  exertions,  whatever 
may  be  the  expense  or  labor,  until  it  is  accomplished. 

So  when  the  prisoner's  woes  are  to  be  mitigated,  a 
Howard  must  arise,  openly  espouse,  and  zealously  plead 
the  cause  of  suffering  humanity  ;  and  travel  from  prison 
to  prison,  and  from  country  to  country,  with  the  same  self- 
denial,  activity,  zeal,  and  perseverance. 

Why  did  these  men  do  and  suffer  so  much  ?  That 
they  might  relieve  thousands  of  their  fellow  beings  from 
the  pressure  of  temporal  wo, — an  object,  a  work,  for  which 
the  blessings  of  multitudes  have  already  come  upon  them. 

But  what  does  he  strive  for,  who  labors  to  persuade 
the  churches  to  evangelize  the  world  1  He  labors  for 
that  which  will  relieve  from  temporal  wo,  seven  eighths 
of  the  human  race.  For  where  the  pure,  peaceable  reli- 
gion of  Christ  does  not  prevail,  there  mankind  groan  un- 
der a  multitude  of  temporal  evils,  which  flee  before  the 
approaching  Hght  of  the  gospel. 

But  this  is  not  all :  he  labors  for  that  which  will  redeem 
a  vast  proportion  of  the  whole  world,  both  from  temporal 
and  eternal  misery. 

By  what  an  infinite  difference  then  does  this  latter  ob- 


GORDON    HALL.  129 

ject  surpass  in  magnitude,  those  for  which  Clarkson  and 
Howard  did  and  suffered  so  much,  and  were  so  justly  and 
highly  commended. 

Yet  from  the  days  of  the  apostles  to  the  present  mo- 
ment, no  individuals  have  appeared  among  the  churches 
to  plead  the  cause  of  the  unevangelized  world,  with  such 
enlarged  views  and  such  an  entire  devotedness  to  the  ob- 
ject, as  these  philanthropists  evinced  in  the  pursuit  of 
their  plans  for  removing  the  temporal  sufferings  of  com- 
paratively a  trifling  ^or^ion  of  mankind. 

The  common  feelings  of  humanity  and  the  ordinary 
impressions  of  the  Christian  religion,  had  formed  in  the 
minds  of  Christendom  a  predisposition  to  the  abolition  of 
the  slave-trade.  Nothing  was  wanting  but  the  applica- 
tion of  the  appropriate  means.  The  public  needed  only 
to  be  convinced  that  the  slave-trade  was  a  heaven-daring 
wickedness,  and  that  to  persist  in  it  would  be  no  better 
than  renouncing  the  obligations  of  Christianity. 

Very  similar  is  the  case  of  the  churches  in  regard  to 
their  duty  of  publishing  the  gospel  in  all  the  world,  to  ev- 
ery creature.  That  Spirit  of  Christ,  which  has  always 
pervaded  his  churches,  holds  his  people  in  readiness  con- 
tinually to  fly  into  every  corner  of  the  world  to  preach 
his  gospel,  as  soon  as  proper  means  are  employed  to 
awaken  them  to  a  sense  of  their  duty. 

As  yet,  these  means  have  not  been  employed,  and 
Christians  do  not  understand  their  duty  in  this  respect. — 
It  avails  nothing  to  say  that  missionary  sermons  are  preach- 
ed, missionary  societies  formed,  and  missionaries  sent  forth 
in  various  directions. 

Reckon  up  the  multitudes  who  have  never  yet  been 


130  MEMOIR    OF 

told  that  Jesus  tasted  death  for  every  man  ;  and  it  will 
be  found  that  there  is  not  more  than  one  Protestant  mis- 
sionary to  20,000,000  of  souls,  who  are  this  moment  per- 
ishing for  lack  of  that  knowledge,  which,  1800  years  ago, 
the  merciful  Redeemer  commanded  his  disciples  imme- 
diately to  impart. 

Again :  estimate  the  number  of  Christians  who  may 
with  propriety  be  said  to  be  exerting  themselves  for  the 
universal  spread  of  the  gospel,  and  how  small  a  proportion 
do  they  bear  to  the  whole  mass  of  Christians  !  When  we 
consider  what  a  very  small  part  of  Christians  are  engag- 
ed in  the  work,  and  what  a  very  trifling  part  of  the  work  has 
been  accomplished,  it  is  apparent  that  the  subject  needs 
to  be  taken  up  as  though  nothing  had  been  done.  Not 
that  we  should  despise  the  day  of  small  things,  but  rather 
thank  God  for  them  and  take  courage.  All  that  has  yet 
been  done,  when  compared  with  nothing,  is  every  thing  ; 
but  compared  with  what  Christians  ought  to  do,  it  is 
nothing. 

Yes,  the  subject  needs  to  be  brought  before  the 
churches  as  entirely  and  thoroughly  as  though  nothing 
had  been  done. 

In  doing  this,  three  things  are  necessary. — Christians 
must  be  convinced  that  it  is  their  dutij  to  evangelize  the 
whole  world — they  must  be  convinced  of  the  means  to  be 
employed  in  accomplishing  this — and  that  Christians  may 
be  convinced  of  these  two  things,  adequate  means  must  be 
employed  to  enlighten  and  persuade  their  minds  on  this 
momentous  subject. 

Christians  must  be  convinced  that  it  is  their  duty  to 
evangelize  all  nations.     Could  Christ  mean   any  thing 


GORDON    HALL.  131 

less  than  this,  Avhen  he  commanded  his  disciples  to  go  in- 
to all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature  ? 
— when  he  commanded  them  expressly  to  go  and  teach,  ^ 
or  evangelize^  all  nations  ? 

How  can  any  one  who  pretends  to  be  a  Christian, 
think  to  shift  off  this  duty  by  saying  that  the  command 
was  given  to  the  apostles,  in  an  age  when  the  gospel  was 
to  be  spread  through  the  world  in  a  miraculous  manner ; 
or  that  it  refers  to  a  future  glorious  period  of  the  church, 
when  Christ  will  in  some  wonderful  way  bring  all  nations 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  ?  It  might  with  equal  pro- 
priety be  said  that  the  moral  precepts  of  Christ  were  not 
given  to  be  obeyed,  except  in  the  days  of  the  apostles  or 
in  the  millennium. 

What !  are  not  the  souls  of  men  as  precious,  is  not 
the  blood  of  Christ  as  efficacious,  is  not  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  as  effectual,  is  not  Chirst  as  worthy  to  be 
obeyed,  in  one  generation  as  in  another  ?  Christ  did 
mean  that  his  disciples  should  go  and  preach  his  gospel  in 
all  the  world,  and  that  they  should  continue  to  preach  it 
through  all  ages. 

Nor  would  he  have  his  people  esteem  it  an  irksome 
and  painful  duty.  It  was  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before 
him,  the  joy  of  having  the  heathen  for  his  inheritance 
and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession, 
that  he  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame.  When 
to  this  end  he  descended  from  the  throne  in  heaven  to  the 
manger  in  Bethlehem,  then  it  was  that  the  angels  of  God 
flew  with  a  like  joy  to  proclaim  to  the  shepherds,  that  a 
Savior  was  born,  and  shouted  the  new  anthem  :  "  Glory 
to  God  in  the  highest,  peace  on  earth,  good  will  to  men." 


132  MEMOIR  OF 

With  the  same  transporting  joy  would  Christ  have  his 
people  seize  the  glorious  message,  and  fly  into  all  the 
world  to  proclaim — >'*  A  Savior  is  born,  Christ  the 
Lord  ;  he  has  tasted  death  for  every  man  ;  look  unto  him 
and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth." 

To  be  zealously  engaged  for  the  diffiasion  of  these  glad 
tidings  through  the  world,  is  no  less  than  to  be  engaged  in 
putting  Christ  in  possession  of  the  heathen,  of  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  of  that  inheritance  for  which  he  so  joyfully 
endured  the  pains  of  the  cross.  It  is  laboring  to  build  up 
and  complete  that  blessed  kingdom,  which  is  to  exist  for- 
ever, and  to  be  the  glory  of  God  and  the  joy  of  all  holy 
beings  in  the  universe. 

Now,  how  displeasing  it  must  be  to  Christ  to  find  that 
his  people  think  it  a  grievous  duty  to  be  made  co-work- 
ers with  him  in  perfecting  his  glorious  kingdom  !  Though 
the  duty  should  call  them  to  the  loss  of  all  things — to 
poverty — to  pains — and  to  death  itself — still,  how  can 
they  think  the  duty  hard  !  How  can  they  be  so  unwill- 
ing to  be  as  their  Lord  and  Master  ? 

Angels  would  gladly  do  the  work,  but  the  noble  priv- 
ilege is  reserved  for  men.  Is  it  possible  that  Christians 
should  shrink  from  the  duty  ?  Considering  what  the  duty 
is,  and  what  an  infinite  weight  of  motives  urges  to  a  prompt 
performance  of  it,  we  should  answer.  No. 

But  looking  at  the  fact,  we  must  say  they  do,  with 
but  few  exceptions,  all  shrink  from  the  duty,  and  leave  it 
undone,  and  the  heathen  to  perish  in  consequence  of  their 
neglect ! 

Christians  must  be  convinced  of  the  means  to  be  em- 
ployed for  evangelizing  the  world.     They  must  be  inform- 


GORDON    HALL.  133 

ed  how  many  hundred  millions  are  now  perishing ;  and 
how  many  times  ten  thousand  missionaries  must  be  sent 
to  them,  or  they  cannot  be  saved.  They  must  be  con- 
vinced that  the  churches  are  able  to  do  all  this. 

In  Christendom  there  are  young  men  enough,  if  they 
were  only  disposed  to  deny  themselves,  take  their  com- 
mission from  Christ,  and  go  forth  to  the  work.  The 
churches  have  money  enough,  and  might  send  them,  if 
Christians  were  only  willing  to  consecrate  what  God  has 
given  them,  to  a  work  which  would  bring  everlasting  glo- 
ry to  Christ,  and  such  inconceivable  happiness  to  men. 

If  professing  Christians  would  lop  off  their  superflui- 
ties in  dress,  equipage,  eating  and  drinking,  and  reduce 
their  expenses  to  the  wholesome  limits  of  gospel  simpli- 
city, and  devote  the  money  thus  redeemed  to  the  great 
work,  the  missionary  treasury  would  soon  contain  its  mill- 
ions. Christians  need  to  have  this  laid  before  them  in 
figures. 

But  Christ  demands  more  than  these  crumbs.  As 
he  requires  our  whole  heart  to  be  given  to  him,  so  he  re- 
quires all  that  we  have,  and  our  life  itself,  to  be  volunta- 
rily made  over  to  him,  and  employed  in  such  a  way,  as 
shall  most  effectually  advance  his  glorious  work  of  saving 
souls.  The  privilege  of  doing  this  is  as  great  as  the  duty 
is  solemn  and  momentous. 

But  who  must  be  convinced  of  all  this  ?  Not  mis- 
sionaries only — not  ministers — not  bodies  of  Christians — 
but  every  individual  who  belongs  to  Christ,  of  whatever 
denomination,  age,  or  sex.  Every  one  has  a  part  to  act. 
All  must  firmly  embrace  the  object  in  their  hearts,  and 
12 


134  MEMOIR  OF 

support  it  daily  by  their  prayers.     In  this  part  of  the  duty 
there  is  no  difference  between  the  rich  and  the  poor. 

Parents  must  devote  their  sons  to  the  work,  and  their 
sons  must  consecrate  themselves  to  it.  Here,  again,  all, 
the  rich  and  the  poor,  have  an  equal  privilege  of  advanc- 
ing the  kingdom  of  the  Redeemer.  Every  one  must  ex- 
hort and  animate  his  neighbors  to  the  work.  Societies 
for  promoting  the  work  must  every  where  be  formed — 
the  rich  must  give  liberally,  and  the  widow  cast  in  her 
mite.  Some  must  be  employed  in  looking  out  suitable 
young  men,  to  be  educated  ;  others  must  educate  them. 
Young  men  must  offer  themselves  to  the  churches,  and 
the  churches  must  send  them  forth. 

Innumerable  are  the  ways  and  means  of  promoting  the 
work.  These  will  multiply  and  discover  themselves  more 
and  more,  as  the  work  advances.  Christians  will  be 
quick  to  discover  them,  when  they  are  once  convinced 
of  their  duty  and  persuaded  to  do  it.  The  very  first 
thing  necessary  in  the  great  work,  therefore,  is,  to  em- 
ploy the  proper  means  for  convincing  Christians  of  their 
duty  and  of  the  manner  of  performing  it. 

But,  alas  !  it  seems  to  be  thought  enough  that  a  few 
missionary  sermons  be  preached  and  printed  in  a  few 
scattering  counties  ;  and  that  by  them  Christians  will 
learn  their  duty ! 

It  was  not  thus,  that  England  was  convinced  of  the 
sin  of  the  slave  trade — it  was  not  thus,  that  all  Christen- 
dom was  roused  to  a  zeal,  which  sacrificed  property  and 
life  in  visionary  plans  for  plucking  Jerusalem  from  the 
hands  of  the  infidels,  and  for  planting  the  banner  of  the 
cross  upon  the  walls  of  the  holy  city,  by  a  crusade. — O 


GORDON    HALL.  135 

that  a  Peter,  a  Clarkson  and  a  Howard,  might  arise  in 
the  churches  to  plead  the  cause  of  the  unevangelized  na- 
tions with  a  zeal  proportionate  to  the  magnitude  of  that 
cause  !  In  awakening  the  churches  to  this  work,  let  every 
minister  be  a  Peter,  every  candidate  for  the  ministry  a 
Clarkson,  and  every  deacon  a  Howard.  Then,  some- 
thing would  be  done. 

As  yet,  a  considerable  portion  even  of  the  clergy  can 
hardly  be  said  to  be  on  the  side  of  missions.  They  do 
not  inform  themselves  on  the  subject  at  large,  they  do 
not  preach  about  it,  and  of  course  their  churches  remain 
ignorant  of  their  duty.  What  can  be  done  unless  minis- 
ters are  engaged  1 

How  important  that  every  minister  should  thorough- 
ly acquaint  himself  with  the  subject,  and  zealously  en- 
gage in  advancing  the  object!  Then  he  w^oukl  preach 
often  and  faithfully  to  his  people  about  it,  and  his  church 
would  know  their  duty  and  be  ready  to  do  it.  O  that  min- 
isters every  where  would  do  this !  Then  all  the  churches 
would  at  once  be  prepared  to  act — there  would  be  hope 
concerning  the  heathen. 

Small  pamphlets  on  the  subject  should  be  prepared 
with  the  greatest  care  and  ability  ;  printed  in  great  num- 
bers and  in  constant  succession  ;  gratuitously  distributed  ; 
put  into  the  hands  of  every  minister  of  every  persuasion 
to  be  distributed  in  every  corner  of  the  country.  Such 
pamphlets  would  find  their  way  to  many  persons,  where 
the  preacher's  voice  is  not  heard. 

Societies  should  be  formed  in  every  direction,  whose 
object  should  be  to  devise  ways  and  means  of  convincing 
Christians  of  their  duty  and  of  persuading  them  to  do  it 
without  delay. 


136  MEMOIR    OF 

Dear  brethren,  I  must  send  my  letter  without  finish- 
ing, and  what  I  have  written,  unrevised,  as  my  time  is  un- 
expectedly cut  short. 

O  fly  for  the  salvation  of  the  heathen,  and  for  the  glo- 
ry of  Christ  among  the  Gentiles.  Persuade  a  thousand 
to  come. 

Pray  for  us.  The  Lord  fit  you  to  do  his  will  and 
pleasure  in  all  things. 

Your  brother  and  fellow-servant  in  Christ, 

Gordon  Hall." 

"  Bombay,  July  12,  1816. 

You  expect  me  to  write  to  you  often ;  I  do  it  with 
pleasure.  Information  concerning  missionary  fields  and 
missionary  operations  is  what  you  chiefly  desire  and  expect 
to  receive,  especially  in  your  associated  capacity.  Com- 
munications of  this  kind,  which,  from  every  quarter  are  pre- 
sented to  the  public,  are  daily  becoming  more  and  more  am- 
ple. In  this  letter  I  shall  not  attempt  to  add  any  thing  to  the 
information  which  you  already  possess,  but  in  the  place  of 
it,  you  will,  I  trust,  indulge  me  in  a  few  loose  remarks. 

Some  of  you  have  already  inquired,  deliberated,  fast- 
ed and  prayed,  until,  by  irresistible  convictions  of  duty, 
you  have  felt  yourselves  sweetly  constrained  to  consecrate 
your  lives  to  the  Redeemer  of  your  souls ;  and  by  antici- 
pation, you  are  now  rejoicing  and  blessing  God,  that  this 
grace  is  given  to  you,  that  you  should  preach  among  the 
gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  Having 
made  this  solemn  and  momentous  decision  in  the  fear  and 
strength  of  the  Lord,  you  are  no  longer  inquiring  after  facts 
or  truths  to  convince  you  what  your  duty  is,  in  regard  to 


GORDON  HALL.  137 

the  heathen.  With  the  map  and  geography  of  the  heath- 
en world  before  you,  your  single  inquiry  is  ;  "  What  field 
is  the  most  eligible  and  what  is  the  best  method  of  estab- 
lishing a  mission  in  that  field.  "  Here  is  a  full  demand 
for  knowledge  and  wisdom.  Still  the  grounds  on  which 
a  rational  decision  must  rest  are  not  so  various  and  intri- 
cate as  greatly  to  embarrass  the  subject.  Unless  there 
are  some  rare  exceptions,  the  ehgibility  of  a  field  must 
depend  on  hs  relative  population,  and  the  relative  degree 
of  security,  which  it  offers  to  missionaries.  If  this  rule  is 
correct,  it  is  certainly  very  simple. 

A  single  glance  at  geography  shows  the  relative  pop- 
ulation of  all  the  principal  places  in  the  world,  which  re- 
duces the  inquiry  to  this  single  point ;  'What  is  the  rela- 
tive degree  of  security  for  missionaries,  which  the  various 
fields  respectively  promise  ?' 

As  to  their  relative  population,  Asia  is,  beyond  com- 
parison eligible.  The  same  is  true  in  regard  to  the  se- 
curity of  missionaries.  Where,  from  the  eastern  extrem- 
ities of  China,  through  the  immense  regions  of  the  penin- 
sula of  India,  where  has  the  Protestant  missionary  ever 
suffered  martyrdom  from  the  hands  of  the  heathen  ?  And 
where  too,  it  may  be  asked,  has  the  missionary  in  all 
these  regions,  attempted  to  gain  a  residence,  and  failed 
of  success  ?  What  greater  encouragement  can  missionary 
zeal  demand? 

The  great  nations  of  Asia,  are  so  nearly  the  same,  as 
to  their  population,  the  facilities  for  acquiring  their  res- 
pective languages,  and  the  comforts  of  life  which  they 
afford,  that,  in  these  respects,  but  little  can  be  urged  in  fa- 
vor of  one  country  rather  than  another. 
12* 


138  MEMOIR  OP 

As  to  the  supply  of  missionaries  already  furnished 
for  these  countries,  it  is  so  extremely  small  that  it  is  un- 
worthy to  come  into  the  account,  when  calculating  the 
number  of  missionaries  still  required.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  all  that  missionaries  have  yet  done,  when  compar- 
ed with  what  remains  to  be  done.  Who  can,  for  a  mo- 
ment, consider  this  subject,  without  seeing*  and  feeling 
that  there  is  an  immediate  and  imperious  demand  for  a 
host  of  missionaries  ?  What  further  means  of  information 
— what  protracted  inquiries  can  be  requisite  in  a  case  so 
plain  ?  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  it  is  not  important 
to  acquire  all  possible  knowledge  of  the  religion,  manners 
and  customs  of  the  heathen,  at  large,  and  especially  of 
those,  to  whom  you  go.  Certainly  the  more  you  obtain 
of  such  knowledge  the  better  you  will  be  prepared  to  act. 
But  this  knowledge  is  so  soon  acquired,  that  no  mission- 
ary can  reasonably  delay  his  going  to  the  heathen  for  the 
sake  of  acquiring  it.     O  brethren,  hasten  to  the  field  ! 

"  There  are  among  you,  brethren,  some  who  have  not 
yet  decided  whether  it  be  their  duty  to  go  to  the  heathen 
or  not.  To  such,  I  can  say,  beloved  brethren,  I  know 
how  to  sympathize  with  you.  Such,  for  a  long  time,  was 
the  anxious  state  of  my  own  mind  on  the  same  subject. 
But  now  it  astonishes  me,  to  think  that  I  so  long  hesitat- 
ed on  a  subject  so  plain.  It  was  no  doubt  my  sin, 
though  perhaps  somewhat  extenuated  by  circumstances, 
which  no  longer  exist.  When  my  mind  was  first  exer- 
cised on  the  subject,  I  knew  of  but  one  in  the  country,  who 
thought  of  becoming  a  missionary  to  the  heathen ;  and  he 
has  not  as  yet,  to  my  knowledge,  engaged  in  the  work. — 
Besides,  through  all  ray  inquiries,  until  I  had  decided  on 


GORDON    HALL. 


139 


the  subject,  it  was  not  known  that  any  support  could  be 
obtained  in  our  country.  I  bless  God,  that  notwithstand- 
ing all  that  opposed,  I  was  enabled  to  decide  as  I  did. — 
I  verily  believe  it  will  be  matter  of  joy  to  me  through 
eternity.  Should  you  make  the  same  decision,  brethren, 
I  have  no  doubt  you  will  find  the  same  satisfaction  in  it. 

But  you  are  not  decided.  Each  of  you  anxiously  in- 
quires, ''  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?  Shall 
I  go  to  the  heathen?"  Here  historical  inquiries  and 
geographical  knowledge  are  of  little  avail.  The  decis- 
ion must  be  made  in  view  of  one  single  command,  and 
one  single  fact.  Jesus  Christ,  the  God  of  our  salvation, 
^"--commanded  his  disciples  to  **  go  into  all  the  world, 
and  preacir-u^  gospel  to  every  creature  J'  This  is  the 
command.  But  (gvt^  at  this  day,  there  are  nearly  six 
eighths  of  the  population  of  the  globe,  to  whom  the  gos- 
pel has  not  been  preached.  This  is  the  fact.  In  view 
of  this  command  and  of  this  fact,  how  ought  you  to  de- 
cide. 

Eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  Christ  gave  this  perpet- 
ual command ;  and  to  quicken  his  disciples  in  the  obedi- 
ence of  it,  he  gave  them  the  most  consoling  assurances  of 
assistance,  and  promisesof  unbounded  reward.  But  from 
century  to  century,  so  remiss  have  been  his  disciples  in 
obeying  the  command,  so  unwilling  to  go  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,  that,  may 
we  not  with  propriety  consider  the  Holy  Trinity  as  saying, 
"  Whom  shall  we  send,  and  who  will  go  for  us  ?"  Is  it 
your  duty  to  reply,  "  Here  am  I,  Lord,  send  me  ?"  This 
is  the  inquiry,  and  how  simple !  What  have  protracted 
researches  to  do  with  such  a  decision  ?     When  the  apos- 


140 


MEMOIR    OF 


ties  first  received  their  commission,  was  it  an  extensive 
knowledge  of  the  population,  religions,  manners  and  cus- 
toms of  the  various  nations,  to  whom  they  were  bid  to  go, 
which  led  them  to  obey  the  command  ?  Was  it  a  retro- 
spective view  of  the  former  success  of  religion  in  this 
guilty  world,  or  was  it  the  prospect  of  an  easy  entrance 
unto  the  heathen,  and  a  secure  and  comfortable  residence 
among  them,  which  made  them  so  ready  to  go  forth,  at 
the  command  of  their  Redeemer  ?  No :  it  was  their 
love  to  Jesus,  and  their  reverence  for  his  authority,  which 
forced  them  to  exclaim,  "  Wo  is  unto  me  if  I  preach  not 
the  gospel,"  as  I  have  been  commanded.  It  is  when 
missionaries  form  their  decisions  on  the  same  grounr'^  '^^^' 
they  eminently  glorify  Christ,  and  build  vf^^  ^  founda- 
tion, which  no  storms  can  shake. 

I  have  been  led  to  these  remarks  from  an  apprehen- 
sion that  there  are  young  men,  who  are  pursuing  mission- 
ary inquiries  in  a  too  general  way,  with  a  kind  of  indefi- 
nite expectation,  that  by  and  by  something  may  transpire, 
some  further  knowledge  of  countries  or  events  may  be  ac- 
quired, or  the  subject  may  be  presented  in  some  new  at- 
titude, which  will  render  their  decision  easy  and  safe. — 
Any  such  expectation,  it  appears  to  me,  tends  only  to 
darken  the  mind,  and  to  confuse  and  enervate  its  opera- 
tions. 

The  subject  is  more  plain  and  easy  of  decision  at  the 
present  day,  if  possible,  than  at  any  former  period.  What 
has  been  found  and  acknowledged  a  truth  in  England,  and 
in  some  of  the  other  European  states,  is  now  found  by  ex- 
periment to  be  true  in  America.  God  has  promised,  that 
he  that  watereth,  shall  be  watered  also  himself. 


GORDON    HALL.  141 

This  gracious  promise  he  has  verified,  by  uniformly 
causing  reHgion  to  flourish  among  nations  at  home,  in  the 
same  proportion  in  which  they  are  active  in  promoting 
missions  abroad.  The  whole  subject,  then,  is  brought  in- 
to this  narrow  compass : — The  great  mass  of  mankind 
have  not  yet  heard  the  gospel  preached  ; — the  standing 
command  of  Christ  to  his  disciples  is,  "  go  and  evange- 
lize all  nations ;"  and  to  prompt  them  to  a  full  compli- 
ance, he  gives  the  assurance,  both  by  his  promise,  and  its 
fulfilment,  that  by  their  exertions  for  the  salvation  of  the 
heathen,  they  do  most  effectually  labor  for  the  salvatioi;i 
of  their  own  countrymen.  In  this  simple  form,  let  the 
subject  be  viewed.  In  this  simple  form,  let  it  come  to 
the  reason,  the  conscience,  and  the  feelings  of  every  one, 
who  is  looking  forward  to  the  gospel  ministry.  How  can 
the  conviction  be  resisted  ?  How  can  the  decision  be 
doubtful  ? 

Dear  brethren,  bear  with  my  freedom.  Placed  as  I 
am,  in  the  midst  of  so  many  millions  of  perishing  heathen, 
and  knowing  from  the  promise  of  Jehovah,  (Prov.  11 : 
25,)  "The  liberal  soul  shall  be  made  fat,  and  he  that 
watereth,  shall  be  watered  also  himself,''  that  your  com- 
ing forth  would  tend  to  promote  religion  at  home,  surely 
I  have  a  claim  on  your  indulgence. 

Allow  me,  then,  to  speak  freely.  To  me,  it  appears 
unaccountable,  how  so  many  young  men,  by  covenant 
devoted  to  Christ,  can  deliberately  and  prayerfully  in- 
quire, whether  it  is  their  duty  to  become  missionaries,  and 
yet  so  few  feel  effectually  persuaded  that  it  is  their  duty 
to  come  forth  to  the  heathen  !  It  tends  greatly  to  the 
discouragement  of  those  who  are  already  in  the  field. 


142  -  MEMOIR    OF 

While  so  great  a  proportion  of  those,  who  examine  this 
point  of  duty,  dehberately  decide  that  it  is  not  their  duty 
to  engage  in  the  missionary  work,  what  are  we  to  think  ? 
In  general,  those  who  excuse  themselves  from  the  work, 
must  do  it  for  general  reasons,  which  would  be  as  appli- 
cable to  others  as  to  themselves,  and  which  would  excuse 
those  who  have  gone  forth  to  the  work,  as  well  as  them- 
selves. Therefore,  must  not  those  men  who  thus  excuse 
themselves,  think  either  that  those  who  engage  in  the 
missionary  work  do  wrong,  or  that  themselves  who  decline 
it,  do  wrong  ? 

Here  it  would  ill  become  the  solemnity  of  the  subject 
to  cavil  and  quibble,  and  say  :  "  What !  shall  we  all  go  to 
the  heathen  ?  Then  what  will  become  of  our  own  coun- 
trymen ?"  Let  such  quibblers  beware  how  they  mock 
the  faithfulness  of  God.  When  thousands  have  gone 
forth  to  the  heathen,  and  God  has  failed  to  fulfil  his  prom- 
ise, "  that  he  that  watereth,  shall  be  watered  also  him- 
self," or  when  he  shall  not  have  caused  religion  to  flour- 
ish among  the  people  at  home,  in  proportion  as  tliey  la- 
bor for  the  heathen  abroad,  then,  and  not  till  then,  let 
the  objection  be  heard. 

Some  seem  to  speak  as  though  a  man  must  have 
some  secret  or  special  call,  before  he  can  decide  in  favor 
of  being  a  missionary.  If,  on  rational  grounds,  he  feels 
persuaded  that  he  ought  to  be  a  minister  any  where,  and 
if  he  feels  disposed  to  go  to  the  heathen,  I  should  think 
that  no  other  call  than  this,  unless  in  extraordinary  cases, 
can  reasonably  be  required.  I  have  doubted  whether  I 
ought  to  be  a  missionary  ;  but  it  was  for  the  same  reasons 


GORDON    HALL.  143 

for  which  I  ought  to  doubt,  whether  it  was  right  for  me 
to  be  a  minister  any  where. 

Brethren,  you  see  that  I  think  there  are  good  rea- 
sons, why  you  should  become  missionaries  to  the  heathen, 
and  of  course  good  reasons  why  I  should  desire  it.  Cer- 
tainly I  do.  And  I  greatly  long  to  see  every  one  of  you 
strenuously  exerting  himself  to  diffuse  the  same  senti- 
ments among  all  pious  young  men  in  the  country. 

Form  great  plans,  and  execute  them  with  great  zeal 
and  prayer  fulness.  Every  thing  that  can  be  desired, 
might  be  done  by  exertion,  with  God's  blessing.  Seize 
every  possible  opportunity  for  impressing  the  subject  up- 
on the  mind  of  every  pious  youth.     But  I  must  stop. 

Brethren,   pray  for  us.     May  the  Spirit  of  God  be 
with  you,  guide  you  in  all  your  deliberations,  and  make 
you  the  instruments  of  winning  many  souls  to  Christ. 
Your  affectionate  brother  and  fellow-servant, 

G.  Hall." 

From  the  preceding  letters,  as  well  as  from  a  great 
portion  of  Mr.  Hall's  wTitings,  it  is  most  obvious  that  he 
did  not  consider  the  foreign  missionary  work  as  tending  to 
impoverish  the  churches.  His  impressions  were  strong, 
that  more,  many  more  candidates  for  the  Christian  min- 
istry, ought  to  devote  themselves  to  the  great  work  of 
evangelizing  the  heathen  :  and  not  only  so,  but  that  im- 
mediate and  vigorous  exertions  should  be  made  to  intro- 
duce the  gospel  to  the  populous  and  extensive  portions  of 
the  pagan  world.  The  same  sentiments  were  entertained 
by  Samuel  J.  Mills,  as  appears  in  the  following  extract  of 


144  MEMOIR    OF 

a  letter  to  the  lamented  Parsons,  while  a  member  of  the 
Seminary  at  Andover. 

"  You  inform  me  that  there  are  two  brethren  in  the 
Seminary,  who  design  engaging  in  an  eastern  mission.  It 
would  have  given  me  great  pleasure  to  have  heard,  that 
there  were  ten,  twenty,  or  even  thirty,  who  had  come 
to  that  determination.  Yea,  let  us  go  to  whatever 
part  of  our  own  continent  we  will,  or  to  the  West  India 
islands,  the  brethren  in  Asia,  (as  it  respects  a  station  for 
glorifying  God,  and  doing  good  to  the  souls  of  men,)  will 
look  down  upon  us  from  an  elevation,  as  high  above  us,  as 
the  heavens  are  above  the  earth I  verily  be- 
lieve that  there  are,  at  our  Theological  Seminaries,  stu- 
dents of  divinity,  who  dare  not  lay  their  Savior's  last 
commission  to  his  disciples  before  them,  and  fast  and  pray 
over  it,  for  a  day,  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  their  duty, 
as  it  respects  missions  to  the  heathen,  lest  convictions 
should  fasten  upon  their  minds,  with  a  force  not  to  be  re- 
sisted, that  it  is  their  duty  to  see  that  commission  carried 
into  effect.  I  say,  they  dare  not  do  it,  although  the  com- 
mission closes  with  the  promise,  '  Lo  I  am  with  you  al- 
way,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.'  " 

Extracts  from  his  Journal, 

Oct.  16,  1816. 

"  In  my  route  this  evening,  fell  in  with  a  company  of 

Gosawees,  a  class  of  religious  mendicants  highly  venerated 

by  the  Hindoos,  but  ignorant,  arrogant,  and  in  general,  a 

vicious  set  of  people.     The  conversation  of  these  people. 


GORDON    HALL.  145 

like  that  of  the  Hindoos  generally,  turns  naturally  and  al- 
most exclusively,  either  upon  religion  or  upon  "filling 
their  bellies,"  as  their  expression  is.  Though  all  the  mor- 
al notions  and  sentiments  of  this  people  are  so  gross  and 
monstrous,  yet  their  conversation,  so  habitually  manifests 
such  a  recognition  of  some  superior  power,  appoint- 
ing and  controlling  all  the  allotments  and  vicissitudes 
of  human  life,  as  does  most  severely  reprove  and  ought 
deeply  to  shame  that  multitude  of  atheistic  Christians, 
v^^ho  will  talk  for  hours,  if  not  for  weeks,  about  the  ordi- 
nary events  of  life,  without  the  slightest  acknowledgement 
of  divine  Providence. 

In  this  little  company  of  Gosawees  was  one  of  distin- 
guished demeanor.  He  told  me  with  much  self-complacen- 
cy, that  he  was  a  Jotesh,  i.  e.  an  astronomer.  I  told  him  I 
felt  gratified,  and  wished  to  ask  him  some  questions  about 
the  Jotesh  shaster, — '*  Will  you  tell  me  whether,  accord- 
ing to  these  shasters,  the  earth  is  a  plane  or  a  sphere  ?" 
After  fully  comprehending  the  question,  he  confessed 
that  he  knew  nothing  about  it,  thus  proving  himself  to  be 
as  much  a  novice  and  iniposter  as  are  nine  tenths  of  those, 
who  prefer  their  claims  to  superior  science  ;  and  as  such 
do  actually  command  respect  among  the  ignorant  multi- 
tude. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  and  one  that  will  ultimately  be 
highly  serviceable  in  pulling  down  the  fabric  of  Hindoo 
superstition,  that  their  religious  books,  held  equally  sa- 
cred, are  directly  at  issue  on  several  points  in  geography 
and  astronomy. 

The  conversation  soon  turned  on  their  mythology. 
One  began  to  boast  that  he  allowed  of  but  one  god,  Ma- 
13 


146  MEMOIR    OF 

hadave,  and  that  he  worshipped  no  other.  I  asked  hira, 
if  Mahadave  did  not  in  a  rage  cut  off  one  of  Brumha's 
five  heads  ? — and  was  not  he  consequently  a  sinner  ? — 
"  No,"  was  his  reply,  "  for  Brumha  had  perjured  him- 
self, and  his  head  was  cut  off  as  his  punishment."  Then 
you  allow  that  Brumha,  one  of  your  greatest  gods,  was  a 
sinner  1  "  Yes,"  he  rephed,  and  manifestly  with  shame. — 
But  was  not  Mahadave  severely  cursed  and  punished  for 
this  act?  "Yes."  But  can  he  who  commits  sin  and  is 
cursed  and  punished  for  it,  be  the  great,  the  perfect,  the 
everlasting  God  ?  I  enlarged,  and  finally  told  him,  that 
God  had  declared  that  the  wicked  should  be  turned  into 
hell.  The  poor  creature,  though  convinced,  would  make 
no  acknowledgement,  but  declared  that  he  would  worship 
none  but  Mahadave ;  and  if  Mahadave  went  to  hell,  he 
would  go  there  with  him. 

17.  As  I  was  walking  in  a  populous  part  of  the  town, 
a  Hindoo  money  changer,  sitting  upon  his  stall,  at  the  an- 
gular point,  where  two  roads  met,  politely  made  me  his 
salam  (obeisance)  and  invited  me  to  take  a  seat  near 
him.  As  he  had  often  seen  me  before,  and  knew  what 
things  I  was  in  the  habit  of  saying  to  the  people,  the  con- 
versation began  of  course  on  religious  subjects.  In  the 
course  of  conversation  I  repeated  the  command  against 
idolatry.  He  asked,  if  that  corrimand  was  written,  I 
took  a  little  book  from  my  pocket  and  read  him  the  ten 
commandments.  By  this  time,  there  were  many  persons 
collected  around.  But,  "  Hoii;,"  he  asked,  "  and  to 
whom  were  these  given?"  I  then  rehearsed  the  aw- 
ful manner  in  which  God  gave  the  law  at  mount  Sinai. — 
But,  said  he,  "  If  God  is  an  invisible,  immaterial  Being, 
how  could  he  write  on  tables  of  stone  ?"     When  I  repli- 


GOftDON    HALL.  147 

ed  that  nothing  could  be  impossible  or  hard  to  him,  who 
created  all  things,  he  was  not,  or  at  least  pretended  not 
to  be,  satisfied. 

The  Hindoos  seem  to  possess  some  dark,  indescriba- 
ble and  unintelligible  notion  of  a  supreme,  invincible,  ab- 
stract existence  or  being,  who  is  no  more  than  a  negation 
of  all  qualities.  Hence  people  of  all  ranks  are  perpetu- 
ally objecting  to  the  doctrine  that  God  is  a  spirit,  and 
saying  that  it  is  impossible  for  an  immaterial  being  to 
create  matter,  or  to  have  control  over  it.  Hence  their 
system  of  holy  theism.  Brumha  is  installed  the  creator 
of  all  material  things,  Vishnu  the  preserver,  and  Sheeva 
or  Mahadave  the  destroyer  ;  all  gods  of  material  form. 
On  the  same  principle,  as  new  emergencies  arose,  in  the 
imaginations  of  these  bewildered  idolaters,  they  have  gone 
on  multiplying  their  gods,  and  assigning  them  their  re- 
spective functions,  till  they  have  swelled  the  catalogue  of 
their  deities  to  the  amount  of  three  hundred  cmd  thirty 
three  millions. ^^ 

The  Hindoo  system  of  religion  presents  a  shapeless 
mass  of  cruelties.  The  speculations  of  their  philosophers, 
based  upon  the  abstruse  position  of  the  shasters,  have 
led  them  into  the  wildest  vagaries,  concerning  God,  spirit, 
and  matter.  They  teach  that  the  eternal  Spirit  is  with- 
out quality,  or  that  he  has  no  qualities  with  which  we  are 
or  can  be  acquainted.  He  neither  sees,  nor  hears,  nor 
loves,  nor  hates,  nor  knows,  nor  regards  any  thing  that 
transpires  in  any  part  of  his  wide  dominion.  He  exists 
in  eternal  solitude,  listless  and  inactive. — All  the  idea  we 
can  get  of  his  nature  or  his  perfections  is  negative ; — he  is 
unlike  any  thing  that  comes  within  the  circle  of  our  expe- 


148  MEMOIR    OF 

rience  or  observation.  This  is  the  Jehovah  of  the  Hin- 
doos. A  system  of  complete  practical  atheism,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  see  why  it  is  not  so  in  theory. 

According  to  the  popular  shasters,  in  some  unknown 
period  of  the  past  eternity,  the  eternal  Spirit,  arousing  him- 
self from  his  eternal  slumbers,  caused  to  emanate  from  him- 
self three  beings,  Brumha,  Vishnu  and  Sheeva,  the  Crea- 
tor, Preserver  and  Destroyer,  and  then  sunk  back  into 
his  first  state  of  abstraction  and  self  contemplation.  These 
two  last  emanations  have  become  incarnate  for  various 
purposes  and  in  numerous  forms.  These  together  with 
their  myriads  of  fabled  attendants,  both  male  and  female, 
are  supposed  to  be  divine,  and  as  such  are  worshipped. 
No  sins  can  be  named  that  have  not  been  committed  by 
this  great  family  of  gods  and  goddesses  ;  and  yet  they  claim 
to  be  holy  and  pure,  because  they  are  gods,  and  as  such 
are  above  all  moral  obligation. 

These  are  the  gods,  whom,  by  far  the  greatest  part 
of  the  Hindoos  worship.  Yet  even  these,  degraded  and 
impure  as  they  are,  by  their  vices,  are  too  elevated  and 
spiritual  in  the  estimation  of  their  votaries  to  be  worship- 
ped without  an  imagery.  The  images  of  these  gods  are 
formed  of  clay,  of  wood  and  of  stone,  of  brass,  of  silver,  of 
gold,  in  forms  as  various,  and  as  unnatural  as  the  imagina- 
tion can  conceive.  After  the  ceremony  of  consecration 
is  performed  by  the  priests,  the  gods  for  whom  they  are 
designed  are  supposed  to  reside  in  them.  The  image  is 
considered  the  Presence  Chamber  of  the  god,  who  is  pro- 
pitious or  unpropitious,  as  he  is  pleased  or  displeased  with 
the  services  of  the  worshipper." 


GORDON    HALL.  149 

On  the  19th  December,  1816,  Mr  Hall  was  married  to 
Miss  Margaret  Lewis,  an  English  lady,  who  had  resid- 
ed a  number  of  years  in  Bombay,  and  was  at  the  time  of 
their  marriage,  well  acquainted  with  the  character  and 
manners  of  the  natives,  and  with  the  Hindoostanee,  one 
of  the  most  popular  languages  of  the  country.  This 
event  was  considered  not  only  by  Mr.  Hall,  but  by  the 
mission,  and  the  Board  in  this  country,  as  an  acquisition 
of  no  small  importance  to  the  cause. 

Extracts  from  Mr,  HalVs  Journal, 

"  Jan.  24,  1817.  Took  a  walk  among  the  Hindoo 
temples.  After  passing  about  five  and  twenty  temples, 
and  five  times  as  many  gods,  I  came  to  a  small  private 
temple.  It  consisted  of  ahttle  room  about  six  feet  square, 
on  the  lower  floor  of  a  two-story  house.  In  this  little 
filthy,  dark  place,  (for  the  Hindoo  temples  are  as  dark  as 
they  are  filthy)  was  the  image  of  Hunumunt,  an  incarna- 
tion of  Vishnu  in  the  form  of  a  monlcey,  engraven,  in  large 
size,  upon  a  stone.  This  temple  is  now  the  property  of 
two  Bramhuns,  which  they  hold  as  an  inheritance  from 
their  distant  ancestors.  It  is  of  no  inconsiderable  value 
to  them  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view.  For  as  a  multi- 
tude of  people  are  continually  passing  by,  many  stop, 
stand  on  one  leg,  close  their  hands,  raise  them  to  their 
foreheads,  and  bow  before  the  idol.  Many  a  poor  man 
and  woman,  who  have  labored  hard  all  day  for  eight  pice 
each  (a  pice  being  equal  to  a  cent)  will  give  half  a  pice 
to  the  idol,  as  they  return  from  the  toils  of  the  day,  to 
their  hungry  families." 

13*       * 


150  MEMOIR    OF 

The  amount  contributed  by  the  Hindoos  in  money, 
cloth,  and  various  products  of  the  soil,  to  their  idols,  is  prob- 
ably three  times  greater  than  any  portion  of  the  Chris- 
tian world  give  for  the  various  purposes  of  religion.  No 
Hindoo,  male  or  female,  but  expects  to  make  an  offering 
of  some  sort,  nearly  or  quite  every  day.  They  never 
murmur  at  this,  any  more  than  they  do  at  the  expense  of 
supporting  their  families.  All  these  offerings  of  the  peo- 
ple go  to  the  support  of  the  temples,  and  their  numerous 
and  indolent  priests.  Hence  it  may  be  seen  what  a  mo- 
tive is  presented  to  the  priests  to  sustain  and  render  pop- 
ular their  system  of  image  worship.  As  many  of  the 
temples  are  private  property  of  the  priests,  it  is  easy  to 
see  a  reason,  why  the  owners  should  use  every  means  in 
their  power  to  render  their  gods  popular." 

Extract  from  a  letter  to  his  parents,  brothers  and  sisters, 

"  Feb.  4,  1817. 
1  rejoice  to  hear  you  are  in  health  and  pros- 
perity, but  above  all  does  it  gladden  my  heart  to  hear 
what  God  ha^^been  doing  for  the  salvation  of  sinners,  in 
the  town  that  gave  me  birth.  While  God  was  pouring 
out  his  Spirit,  and  showing  thoughtless  sinners  their  dan- 
ger, how  did  my  dear  father  and  brother  feel  ?  What 
did  they  do  ? — O  how  shall  I  address  my  honored,  my 
grey-headed  father !  Ah !  while  I  write,  perhaps  he  is  in 
eternity.  If  so,  how  did  he  die  ?  Did  he  feel  his  need 
of  Christ?  Closing  his  eyes  upon  the  world — eternity 
bursting  upon  his  view, — at  that  awful  moment,  did  he 
find  his  own  righteousness  sufficient  ?  If  my  father  is 
dead,  what  sentence  did  Christ  pass  upon  his  departed 


GORDON    HALL.  151 

soul,  "  Come,  ye  blessed,  or,  depart,  ye  cursed  ?''  But  it 
may  be,  that  my  father  is  still  alive.  Then,  God  be  prais- 
ed. And  what  does  the  tenderest  filial  aftection  require 
of  me  ?  O,  my  dear  father,  let  your  son  beseech  you,  to 
work  out  your  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling, — your 
time  is  short, — your  day  is  far  spent,  the  night  is  at  hand  ; 
and  a  night  of  eternal  darkness  it  must  be,  if  you  are 
found  out  of  Christ. 

Alas !  dear  brother,  do  you  say  that  you  are  not 

converted,  and  that  this  is  God^s  work  ? — O  remember, 
that  repentance  is  your  work.  Christ  has  told  you,  that 
if  you  repent  not,  you  shall  perish.  You  say  again,  "  God 
will  do  that  which  will  be  most  for  his  own  glory." 
True !  and  since  God  has  given  his  Son  to  die  for  you, 
since  he  has  commanded  you  to  repent,  since  he  has  in- 
vited you  to  come  to  Christ  and  be  saved — now  since 
God  has  done  all  this,  if  you  repent  not,  and  neglect 
Christ,  it  will  be  most  for  his  glory  to  do  as  he  has  threat- 
ened, to  destroy  you  with  all  other  impenitent  sinners,  in 
hell,  forever.  O  then,  my  dear  brother,  as  you  value 
the  salvation  of  your  soul,  as  you  regard  eternity,  rest  not 
a  moment, — flee  out  of  Sodom — flee  for  your  life — look 
not  behind  you, — heaven  k  at  stake !  The  Savior  bids 
you  strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate ;  «nd  since  he 
tells  you  that  many  will  fail,  take  heed  lest  you  be  one  of 
those  that  fail.  " 

Extract  of  a  Utter  to  Rev,  Dr,  Morse. 

''Bombay,  April  18,  1817. 
•How  transporting  it  would  be  to  me  to  relate, 


and  for  you  to  hear,  the  tidings  of  Hindoos  converted  to 


152  MEMOIR  OF 

God,  through  the  labors  of  your  missionaries  in  this  place. 
But  as  yet,  it  has  pleased  the  Sovereign  Disposer  to  with- 
hold his  converting  grace  from  this  heathen  people.  Thou- 
sands here  have  heard  from  our  lips  the  tidings  of  the 
gospel,  and  many  more  are  still  hearing  them  from  day  to 
day.  But  alas !  so  far  as  we  can  see,  all  seems  to  be  as 
the  "  seed  that  fell  by  the  way-side."  In  this  case,  how 
consoling  to  be  assured,  that  God's  word  shall  not  return 
void,  but  shall  surely  accomplish  the  blessed  end  for  which 
it  was  sent  ? 

After  surmounting  many  difficulties,  we  have  at  length 
got  our  press  in  operation. — We  still  make  the  Mahratta 
language  our  main  study.  For  a  year  past,  I  have  em- 
ployed a  considerable  portion  of  my  time  in  the  study  of 
the  Sungskrit.  I  can  now  speak  the  Mahratta  with  ease, 
and  hope  by  and  by  to  preach  in  the  Goojeratta  and  Hin- 
doostanee. 

I  have  visited  the  celebrated  excavations  on  the  isl- 
ands of  Elephanta  and  Salsette.  The  extent  of  these  ex- 
cavations in  the  solid  rock,  is  truly  astonishing.  As  to  the 
amount  of  labor  and  the  folly  of  executing  them,  I  think 
they  must  surpass  the  pyramids  of  Egypt.  They  are  pure- 
ly of  a  rehgious  origin  ;  but  when  and  how  they  were  ex- 
ecuted is  unknown  to  the  present  inhabitants  of  the  land. 
1  shall  not  attempt  any  description  of  these  monuments  of 
Hindoo  idolatry,  because  if  I  could  do  it  to  perfection,  it 
would  be  useless,  since  they  have  been  so  ably  described 
in  books  which  have  been  before  the  public." 

These  excavations  are  truly  said  to  be  astonishing. 
Elephanta  is  a  small  island  situated  in  the  harbour  of 
Bombay.     It  is  called  Elephanta  from  the  statue  of  a  large 


GORDON    HALL.  153 

elephant  carved  from  the  soHd  rock,  which  stands  in  a 
conspicuous  station  on  the  south  shore  of  the  island.  On 
the  northern  part  of  the  island  arises  a  mountain  of  granite. 
About  half  way  from  the  base  to  the  top,  the  excavation 
commences  horizontally.  The  door-way  is  now  obviously 
much  larger  than  formerly,  the  side  pillars  seem  to  have 
been  either  worn  away  by  the  action  of  the  elements,  or 
battered  by  the  hand  of  violence.  This  excavation  is 
more  than  100  feet  square,  and  in  height  about  18  feet. 
The  enormous  mass  of  solid  rock  above  is  supported  by 
four  rows  of  pillars.  Each  pillar  stands  upon  a  square 
pedestal,  and  is  finely  fluted.  Along  the  sides  of  the 
cavern  are  ranged  a  great  number  of  colossean  statues 
of  Hindoo  gods,  goddesses  and  heroes,  some  of  which  are 
from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  in  height,  in  very  exact  symmetry, 
all  carved  from  solid  rock. 

The  excavations  on  the  island  of  Salsette,  which  lies 
a  little  north  of  Bombay,  are  very  numerous.  Near  the 
centre  of  the  island,  embosomed  in  extensive  woods,  rise 
four  very  steep  and  contiguous  hills,  exhibiting,  at  a  dis- 
tance, the  appearance  of  one  entire  rock.  It  is  in  the 
sides  of  these  hills,  that  the  caverns  are  hewn,  amounting 
in  all  to  more  than  two  hundred.  The  excavations  in 
the  western  hill  are  the  most  worthy  of  attention,  both 
from  their  number  and  magnitude.  In  altitude,  the  largest 
of  these  excavations  far  exceeds  that  on  the  island  of  Ele- 
phanta.  According  to  governor  Boon's  account,  it  is  eigh- 
ty four  feet  long,  forty  six  broad,  and  forty  six  high,  to  the 
crown  of  the  arch.  This  arched  roof  is  supported  by 
thirty  five  massy  pillars,  of  an  octagonal  form,  and  of 
five  feet  in  diameter.     The  capitals  of  each  are  highly 


154  MEMOIR    OF 

ornamented  with  figures  of  elephants,  lions,  tigers,  &c., 
crouching,  as  if  burdened  with  the  superincumbent  mass 
of  rock.  The  vestibule  or  porch  is  proportionably  spa- 
cious, and  is  adorned  with  two  stately  columns.  In  this 
porch,  there  are  two  immense  statues  of  twenty  seven 
feet  in  height,  and  of  excellent  proportion.  The  walls, 
pillars,  &c.  are  in  a  fine  state  of  preservation,  and  were 
once  smooth  and  painted.  Two  rows  of  cavities  are  plac- 
ed in  the  walls,  for  the  purpose  of  inserting  lamps.  At 
the  farther  end  of  this  temple,  is  an  elevation,  in  a  convex 
form,  twenty  feet  in  diameter  and  nearly  the  same  in 
height,  presenting  the  appearance  of  an  immense  altar. 

The  walls  in  the  smaller  excavations  are  filled  with 
sculpture,  presenting  groups,  gods  and  goddesses  in  high 
and  prominent  figures.  The  workmanship  far  exceeds 
in  skill  that  of  any  living  statuary  how  to  be  found  among 
the  Hindoos. 

These  excavations  must  all  have  been  made  by  the 
slow  and  laborious  operation  of  the  chisel.  The  artist 
employed  by  governor  Boon  to  make  drawings  of  these 
excavations  asserted  "  that  it  must  have  required  the  la- 
bor of  forty  thousand  men,  for  forty  years,  to  accomplish 
the  work."  But  loose  as  this  mode  of  estimation  may 
be,  it  helps  to  convey  the  impression  made  on  the  mind 
of  the  spectator.  The  compiler  visited  these  excavations 
in  1820,  and  found  that  previous  accounts  of  them  had 
not  been  exaggerated. 

The  history  of  these  monuments  of  labor  and  skill,  is 
entirely  involved  in  obscurity.  The  object  was  religious  ; 
but  when  and  by  whom  designed  and  executed,  no  one 
can  tell.     The  Hindoos  believe  them  to  have  been  mi- 


GORDON    HALL.  155" 

raculously  produced  by  one  of  their  gods,  and  consider 
them  as  a  standing  memorial  of  the  divinity  of  their  relig- 
ion. That  they  are  very  ancient  is  obvious,  and  must  have 
demanded,  in  their  execution,  greater  resources  of  wealth 
and  skill,  than  any  Hindoo  rajah  of  modern  times  could 
have  commanded.  They  present  one,  among  numerous 
other  evidences  that  might  be  mentioned,  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  current  opinion  among  the  Hindoos,  that 
their  nation  is  in  a  deteriorating  state. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

LETTERS,  JOURNAL,  ETC.  FROM  APRIL  16,  1818,  TO  APRIL 

30,  1821. 


Extract  of  a  letter  to  Rev.  Dr,  Porter. 

"  April  16,  1818. 
The  great  variety  of  plans  for  doing  good,  now 


going  forward  in  America,  presents  a  glorious  spectacle. 
Every  true  Christian  must  rejoice  to  see  it.  Though  all 
are  not  of  equal  importance,  they  are  all  wanted,  and 
more  too,  to  render  the  system  of  operations  complete. 

What  may  not  be  expected  from  the  American 

Education  Society  ?  Its  absolute  importance  cannot  be  ex- 
aggerated, but  its  relative  importance  may  be.*    To  say, 

*  But  few  men  have  possessed  minds  more  comprehensive 
and  better  balanced,  in  regard  to  the  great  work  of  evangelizing 
the  world,  than  Mr.  Hall.  Often  has  the  compiler  heard  him 
express  his  opinion  in  regard  to  the  comparative  importance  of 
the  Foreign  Missionary  work.  It  was,  in  his  view,  the  spirit 
of  Foreign  Missions  that  gives  life  and  energy  to  all  kindred 
institutions.  This  opinion,  though  formed  nearly  twenty 
years  ago,  is  most  obviously  correct.  It  is  now  seen  and  gen- 
erally acknowledged,  that  most  of  the  benevolent  societies, 
which  are  now  disseminating  the  blessings  of  Christian  knowl- 
edge through  our  country,  emanated  from  and  are  sustained  by 
the  spirit,  which  aims  at  nothing  less  than  the  conversion  of  the 
world. 


MEMOIR  OF  GORDON  HALL.  157 

as  has  been  said,  that  Foreign  Missions  cannot  exist  with- 
out the  Education  Society  is  to  put  the  effect  before  the 
cause ; — or  to  say,  the  parent  cannot  exist  without  the 
child. 

Pray  tell  me,  if  some  representations  of  the  dearth  of 
spiritual  teachers,  in  our  heaven-blessed  land,  are  not  too 
high  colored  ?  Have  not  such  estimates  of  your  desti- 
tution been  made  as  to  blot  from  the  catalogue  of  Christ's 
ministers  many,  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  has  separated  to 
the  gospel  ministry,  and  whose  labors  he  has  blessed? 
Are  the  American  churches  to  be  represented  as  more  des- 
titute than  any  other  part  of  Christendom,  because  they  have 
not  a  ministry  as  numerous  in  proportion  to  their  popula- 
tion as  some  other  countries  ?  Is  the  number ,  or  the  char- 
acter of  the  ministers  of  religion  to  fix  the  actual  propor- 
tion and  value  of  religious  instruction  in  a  land  ?  Shall 
Mecca  and  Medina,  Benares  and  Poona,  Goa  and  Rome, 
or,  if  you  please,  shall  Ireland  and  England  be  declared 
better  furnished  with  spiritual  teachers  than  the  United 
States  of  America,  merely  because  a  greater  proportion 
of  their  population  stand  in  the  priest's  office  ?  If  the 
comparison  between  America  and  other  parts  of  Christen- 
dom were  fairly  made, — if  on  the  one  hand  none  were 
admitted  on  the  catalogue  of  ministers,  but  such,  as  in 
the  judgment  of  Christian  charity  were  the  rcaZ  ministers 
of  Christ,  and  on  the  other  hand,  all  were  admitted  on 
the  list,  whom  Christ  owns  as  his  ministers,  would  not 
the  result  of  the  comparison  show  that  no  part  of  Chris- 
tendom is  so  well  fiirnished  with  spiritual  teachers  as  the 
United  States  of  America  ?  I  should  much  like  to  see  a 
fair  and  full  examination  of  this  subject." 
14 


158  MEMOIR  OP 

The  following  letter  to  his  friend  Samuel  J.  Mills  has 
been  found  since  this  volume  was  put  to  the  press.  It  clear- 
ly shows  what  the  compiler  previously  knew  to  be  the 
fact,  that  Mr.  Mills,  in  devising  and  maturing  various 
plans  of  benevolence,  was  in  the  habit,  as  far  as  possible, 
of  consulting  Mr.  Hall,  and  obtaining  his  opinion  and  ad- 
vice. 

"  Bombay,  June  18,  1818. 
Dear  Brother  Mills, 

Yours  from  Newport,  27th  September  1817,  is  the 
last  that  I  have  received  from  you.  Many  thanks  for  it. 
You  must  think  it  peculiarly  interesting  to  me  to  hear 
about  the  origin  and  progress,  in  my  native  land,  of  the 
great  variety  of  plans  for  advancing  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 
I  think  the  American  churches  are  nobly  advancing  to 
the  help  of  the  Lord.  Their  plans  are  inferior  to  none 
in  Europe.  All  these  plans  and  many  more  are  wanted  to 
complete  the  work ;  they  need  not  at  all  interfere  with 
each  other.  If  jealousy,  envy  and  strife  spring  up  among 
them,  it  can  only  be  the  work  of  the  devil.  Every 
sanctified  heart  must  rejoice  in  the  success  of  each  so- 
ciety. All  are  excellent  in  their  place.  I  would  not 
prefer  one  before  another. 

Auxiliary  foreign  mission  societies  must  be  multiplied ; 
— they  are  of  infinite  importance.  Without  them,  the 
gospel  could  never  be  sent  to  the  heathen,  though  there 
might  be  ever  so  many  Bible  Societies  and  Education  So- 
cieties. But  the  Bible  Society  has  a  specific  object,  and 
will  effect  boundless  good.  So  of  the  Education  Society. 
The  Lord  prosper  them  all !    By  means  of  them  all,  a 


GORDON    HALL.  l59 

greater  mass  of  people  will  doubtless  be  engaged  in  the 
work  of  doing  good,  than  could  be  engaged  without  such 
a  diversity  of  objects.  But  the  object  of  organizing  in- 
dividual churches  of  every  denomination,  into  regular  aux- 
iliary societies,  to  some  foreign  mission  society  of  their  res- 
pective denominations,  I  still  think  to  be  of  great  impor- 
tance. I  can  see  no  other  plan  so  natural,  so  easy  and 
so  effectual  for  engaging  all  the  churches  to  act  each  as 
a  body,  which  is  the  great  desideratum  in  evangelizing 
the  world.  I  long  to  see  this  plan  carried  into  effect.  It 
appears  so  plain,  so  easy,  and  so  infinitely  important,  and 
the  arguments  for  supporting  it  so  instructive  and  resist- 
less to  a  christian  mind,  that  I  am  sometimes  inclined  to 
believe,  that  I  could  persuade  every  church  to  come  for- 
ward in  this  way  to  the  work  of  the  Lord.  I  am  sure 
that  two  or  three  men  of  the  right  stamp,  by  traveling 
through  the  country  and  exerting  all  their  powers  among 
the  churches,  might  do  wonders. 

Extract  of  a  letter  to  Rev,  Dr,  Porter, 

''Bombay,  Oct,  30,  1819- 
-The  concerns  of  our  mission  go  on  moderate- 


ly progressive.  The  schools  continue  to  prosper.  Our 
funds,  for  the  last  six  months,  have  not  allowed  us  to 
open  any  new  ones,  though  we  have  had  many  pressing 
calls  to  do  so-  This  is  greatly  to  be  lamented.  The 
business  of  schooling  among  the  natives,  is  every  day  be- 
coming more  and  more  interesting,  promising,  and  popular. 
I  hope  more  laborers  will  soon  be  sent  to  us ; — Prov- 
idence is  opening  the  door  all  around  us.  Why  do  you 
not  send  men  to  Persia  and  Arabia  ?     A  large  expedi- 


160  MEMOIR    OF 

lion  of  red-coats,  armed  with  sword  and  bayonet,  powder 
and  ball  are  now  in  the  act  of  embarking  from  this  place, 
for  the  purpose  of  exterminating  the  Wahabean  and  oth- 
er piratical  hordes,  which  infest  the  Arabian  seas  and  the 
Persian  gulf.  O  that  the  soldiers  of  Immanuel  would  in- 
cur but  half  the  expense,  and  make  but  half  the  effort  to 
exterminate  from  those  Mohammedan  regions,  the  far 
more  destructive  power  and  inroads  of  satan  !  But  alas, 
the  children  of  this  world  are  wiser  in  their  generation, 
than  the  children  of  light." 

Extract  of  a  letter  to  Rev.  Dr.  Porter. 

"Bombay,  Feb.  6,  1820. 
It  affords  me  much  greater  pleasure  to  receive  your 
very  kind  letters,  than  it  does  to  answer  them.  Not  be- 
cause I  have  no  pleasure  in  showing  every  token  of  my 
affectionate  remembrance  of  yourself  and  dear  consort,  but 
because  I  have  so  little  to  send,  for  all  the  good  tidings  I 
have  from  you.  I  sojourn  in  Meseck  and  dwell  in  the 
land  of  Kedar,  surrounded,  I  may  almost  say,  with  the 
unmingled  abominations  of  heathens  and  Mohammedans, 
and  others  of  a  better  name,  but  hardly  of  a  better  prac- 
tice. You  dwell  on  Mount  Zion,  amidst  the  courts  of  the 
Most  High,  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  hath  blessed, — 
you  behold  the  wonders  of  his  grace  multiplying  around 
you.  It  greatly  rejoices  and  animates  my  heart  to  hear 
of  all  the  gracious  acts  of  the  Lord,  in  my  native  land. 
The  state  of  the  public  mind  appears  to  be  such,  in  Ameri- 
ca, as  to  render  the  present  period  peculiarly  fitted  for 
planning  and  accomplishing  great  things.  God  has  doubt- 
less important  designs  to  accomplish  through  the  instru-. 


GORDON  HALL.  161 

mentality  of  his  American  Zion.  O  may  he  cause  all 
duly  to  exert  themselves,  and  all  exertions  to  be  com- 
pletely successful.  To  be  engaged  in  these  broad  and 
various  plans  for  saving  souls,  which  will  probably  con- 
tinue to  extend  with  multiplied  and  glorious  success 
through  all  future  generations  of  the  world,  is  certainly 
the  highest  privilege  and  among  the  most  powerful  stimu- 
lants to  the  love  and  service  of  God.  Blessed  are  those, 
who  from  love  to  the  Saviour,  are  zealously  inclined  thus 
to  cooperate  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  But  alas  !  in  this 
high  felicity,  we,  in  these  eastern  plains  of  Sodom,  can- 
not, in  every  sense,  participate.  What  can  we  do  in  such 
a  land,  polluted  not  only  with  the  countless  abominations 
of  idolatry,  but  a  land,  where  the  name  of  God  is  every 
day  blasphemed  among  the  heathen,  by  means  of  the  sins 
of  those  who  call  themselves  Christians  ?  *  *  *  *  What 
glorious  trophies  of  victory  await  the  Saviour  of  sinners  in 
such  a  land  !  In  every  thing  that  is  good,  Calcutta  is 
half  a  century  before  this  place  ;  and  Madras  holds  a 
middle  rank  between  the  presidencies  of  Bombay  and 
Calcutta.  From  the  latter  place,  you  get  the  detail  of 
religious  information,  about  as  soon  as  we  do.  Native 
schools,  and  the  school-book  society  are  among  the  most 
promising  objects  in  that  region.  Those  books,  which  the 
Society  i&  now  translating  and  printing,  in  the  rudiments 
of  general  science,  will  prove  a  powerful  auxiliary,  in  th^e 
propagation  of  gospel  truth.  Our  mission,  without  any 
very  great  expense,  might  do  much  in  the  same  wa^. 
AH  our  exertions  in  the  way  of  schools  and  school-books 
are  attended  with  much  encouragement." 


14# 


162  MEMOIR    OF 

Extract  of  a  letter  to  Jesse  D.  Hawley,  Esq. 

"  Bombay,  April,  1820. 
-It  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  hear  of  your 


welfare,  temporal  and  spiritual.  If  you  and  your  com- 
panion are  indeed  going  forward  with  your  faces  heaven- 
ward, daily  encouraging  and  strengthening  each  other  in 
the  narrow  path,  O  then  how  happy  are  you  ! — children 
of  Abraham — yea  children  of  God  !  May  you  have  all 
needful  grace  to  live  together,  as  joint  heirs  of  the  heav- 
enly world.  How  soon  shall  we  be  together  there,  if  in- 
deed we  are  Christ's  true  disciples  ?  This  is  my  hum- 
ble hope,  and  it  affords  me  daily  comfort.  But  I 
still  find  there  is  yet  remaining,  a  great  deal  for  me  to  do 
in  working  out  my  own  salvation.  I  suppose  it  is  so  with 
you.  Each  one  is  first  of  all  required  to  save  his  own 
soul,  and  then  to  do  all  he  can  for  the  salvation  of  oth- 
ers. 

There  is  a  great  field  in  the  new  country,  where  Prov- 
idence has  placed  you.  You  may  be  the  means  of  do- 
ing incalculable   good. 1  wish  I  could  send  you  good 

news  from  this  land.  It  is  indeed  dry  and  barren,- — a 
vast  wilderness  yielding  no  fruits,  but  the  grapes  of  Sod- 
om and  the  clusters  of  Gomorrah.  I  dwell  in  the  midst 
of  Satan's  Golgotha,  surrounded  with  innumerable  multi- 
tudes of  the  slain.  We  prophecy  to  them  as  we  are  bid- 
den.— But  as  yet,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  does  not  breathe, 
— ^no  life  enters  into  them.  Thousands  around  us,  have 
heard  more  or  less  of  the  word  of  life.  We  have  recent- 
ly baptized  and  received  into  our  church,  one  man  who 
was  before  a  disciple  of  Mohammed.     He  is,  so  far  as  we 


GORDON    HALL.  163 

can  judge,  a  consistent  Christian,  and  in  some  measure  a 
helper  in  publishing  the  gospel.* 

During  the  two  past  years,  this  country  has  been 

visited  by  earthquakes,  pestilence  and  war,  which  have 
swept  off  many  thousands  of  the  natives.  The  pestilence 
(Cholera)  is  now  raging  in  many  places.  Yesterday  it 
carried  off  ninety  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  city.  O  that 
this  people  would  learn  righteousness,  while  God's  judg- 
ments are  among  them,  and  while  the  offers  of  salvation 
are  made  to  them !" 

Extract  of  a  letter  to  his  parents,  July  1820. 

" Through  divine  goodness,  our  lives  are  still 


spared.  Our  dear  babe  is  in  a  very  feeble  and  emaciat- 
ed state.  We  greatly  fear  we  shall  be  called  to  lay  her 
by  the  side  of  her  dear  departed,  mouldering  sister.     But 


*  This  individual  was  a  merchant  of  H^'drabad,  a  city 
nearly  400  miles  east  of  Bombay.  Being  in  Bombay  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring  merchandize,  he  providentially  met  with 
a  Christian  tract,  which  excited  his  attention  and  led  him  to 
seek  the  instruction  of  the  missionaries.  He  soon  found  that 
Christianity  claimed  to  be  the  only  true  religion,  and  resolved 
to  give  it  a  thorough  examination.  He  accordingly  committed 
his  business  to  the  hands  of  an  agent,  and  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  missionaries  sat  down  to  the  study  of  Henry  Martyn's 
translation  of  the  New-Testament  into  Persian.  After  devoting 
his  whole  time  for  nearly  six  months,  to  the  study  of  the  Bible, 
he  came  to  the  full  conviction,  that  it  contained  the  only  true 
system  of  religion,  and  as  it  is  hoped,  heartily  embraced  it. 
After  his  baptism  he  remained  a  short  time  in  Bombay,  and 
then  returned  to  his  family  at  Hydrabad.  What  is  worthy  of 
special  notice  in  the  history  of  this  man  is,  the  readiness  with 
which  he  laid  aside  the  business  of  the  world,  till  he  had  given 
the  new  religion  a  fair  examination. 


164  MEMOIR    OF 

it  is  a  consoling  reflection,  that  we  and  ours  are  in  the 
hands  and  at  the  disposal  of  the  all-wise  God.  O  how 
much  peace  and  happiness  we  lose  by  not  putting  our 
trust  in  God  at  all  times. 

The  more  I  reflect,  the  more  concerned  I  feel  about 
the  salvation  of  my  dear  relatives.  God  is  my  witness 
that  I  have  given  them  some  affectionate  and  faithful  ex- 
hortation in  some  of  my  former  letters.  O  that  they  had 
been  more  spiritual !  My  dear  father,  I  hope  you  are 
no  longer  perplexing  your  thoughts  about  such  matters  as 
election  and  decrees,  and  following  the  suggestion  of  satan 
by  saying,  "If  I  am  to  be  saved,  1  shall  be  saved,  &c. 
&tc."  This  is  the  vile  bait  with  which  satan  has  covered 
his  fatal  hook, — if  you  swallow  it,  you  will  certainly  be- 
come his  prey.  Say  rather,  my  dear  father,  If  I  do  not 
truly  beheve,  I  shall  be  damned, —  if  I  do  not  become  a 
new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus,  I  shall  be  lost  forever, — 
God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner. — Create  within  me  a 
clean  heart  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within  me. — Open  my 
blind  eyes,  unstop  my  deaf  ears — awaken  my  stupidity, 
— make  me  to  know  my  danger  and  flee  from  it, — make 
me  to  know  my  sins,  and  truly  to  repent  of  them, — make 
me  to  know  the  Savior,  and  to  forsake  all  and  follow  him. 
Beloved  father,  let  such  be  your  confessions  and  your 
prayers.  It  is  the  affectionate,  earnest  request  of  a  dying 
child,  to  a  dying  parent.  My  dear  Mother,  I  hope  you 
are  less  concerned  about  this  world  and  more  concerned 
about  the  next.  Let  me  most  earnestly  entreat  you  to 
devote  a  short  season  every  morning  and  evening  to  read- 
ing the  bible  and  secret  prayer.     For  myself,  I  know  not 


GORDON    HALL.  165 

how  any  one  can  think  that  he  is  working  out  his  salva- 
tion, without  doing  this. 

My  dear  Brother,  do  you  read  the  scriptures  and 

pray  in  your  family  ?  Those  families  that  live  without 
prayer,  God  reckons  among  the  heathen,  who  are  to  be 
destroyed,  if  they  remain  such. — You  or  I  may  be  dead, 
before  this  reaches  America.  Are  we  ready  for  our  de- 
parture to  the  world  of  retribution  p  ****=*  * 

1  praise  God  for  the  worldly  prosperity  he  has 

given  you, — you  have  enough,  or  rather,  it  is  God's  prop- 
erty, lent  to  you  for  a  little  while,  to  see  how  you  will 
use  it.  O  remember  this,  for  the  day  of  reckoning  will 
soon  come.  Be  charitable  to  the  poor. — Be  hberal  in 
giving  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel.  I  would  entreat  each 
of  you  to  give  something  every  month.  Give  it  in  love 
to  God,  and  you  will  not  be  losers — your  reward  will  be 
great  and  sure." 

Extract  of  a  letter  to  Rev.  Dr.  Porter. 

''Bombay,  Jan.  20,1821. 
Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

-My  every  attempt  to  address  you  awakens 


many  fond  recollections  of  my  former  situation  in  your 
family  at  the  old  parsonage  glebe  in  Washington,  where  I 
well  remember  various  solitary  retreats,  the  dumb  but  sol- 
emn associates  of  those  meditations  and  exercises,  which 
through  grace,  were  a  part  of  the  leading-strings,  by  whichj 
Providence  conducted  me  to  this  desolate  land.  To  re- 
view those  distant  scenes,  illuminated,  as  I  still  trust  they 
were  by  the  presence  of  Christ  and  the  love  of  God,  now 
wanns  and  encourages  my  heart  as  I  dwell  upon  them.    But 


166  MEMOIR    OF 

when  I  drop  these  pleasing  contemplations,  and  recollect 
where  I  am,  and  turn  to  survey  the  wide  spreading  moral 
desolations  that  surround  me,  an  indescribable  chill  strikes 
through  my  soul,  and  I  feel  as  though  1  could  write  no 
more.  ******  Our  friends  in  America  expect  that 
our  letters  should  be  filled  with  cheering  accounts  of  the 
conversion  of  the  heathen  and  the  rapid  progress  of  the 
gospel  in  this  region.  But  if  we  write  at  all,  our  letters 
must  rather  be  filled  up  with  louder  and  louder  calls  upon 
their  benevolence,  urged  by  every  possible  motive  which 
can  influence  them,  to  send  us  more  help,  to  consecrate 
more  of  their  ministers,  their  money,  and  their  prayers  to 
the  service  of  God  among  these  heathen.  But  how  ungrate- 
ful, how  arrogant  (they  may  say)  to  be  always  assaulting 
your  friends  in  this  way  ! — I  feel  it,  and  I  feel  it  so  strong- 
ly too,  that  I  write  to  my  friends  with  much  reluctance  ; 
yet  I  cannot  cease,  in  this  way,  to  plead  for  the  heathen. 
Our  public  communications  have  been  just  forwarded 
by  way  of  England,  and  will  probably  reach  you  before 
this  letter  does.  From  them  you  will  learn  the  general 
state  of  our  affairs.  Mr.  Bardwell's  departure  is  a  trial, 
severe  to  him  and  to  us.  We  are  all  unanimous  in  our 
opinion,  that  when  there  is  satisfactory  evidence,  that  a 
missionary  cannot  live  and  be  useful  at  his  station,  on  ac- 
count of  ill  health,  which  while  at  the  same  time,  there  is 
a  prospect,  that  he  might  live  and  be  useful,  in  another 
place,  it  is  his  duty  to  remove.  This  we  know  is  contra- 
ry to  the  opinions  of  some  of  the  friends  of  missions,  wlio 
hesitate  not  to  say,  "  that  missionaries  should  die,  at  their 
post,  rather  than  return."  I  hope  such  persons  will  can- 
didly review  this  sentiment,  and  judge  again,  whether  it 


GORDON    HALL.  167 

be  founded  in  truth  and  love ; — and  while  binding  such 
burdens  on  other  men's  shoulders,  duly  consider,  what 
they  would  be  willing  to  bear  themselves  in  reverse  of 
drcumstances.  Mr.  Bardwell  feels  much  tried  in  pros- 
pect of  meeting  these  sentiments." 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  sentiments  of  individu- 
als, on  this  subject,  in  times  past,  there  are  probably  but 
few,  if  any  judicious  friends  of  the  cause  now,  who  do 
not  deem  it  the  duty  of  missionaries  to  leave  their  stations, 
if  by  ill  health  they  are  unable  to  labor  ;  especially,  if  by 
so  doing,  there  is  a  prospect  that  their  lives  may  be  pre- 
served. 

On  this  principle,  the  American  Board  have  acted 
from  the  first.  They  do  indeed  expect  their  missiona- 
ries to  devote  themselves  to  the  work,  for  life.  And  there 
are  good  reasons,  why  they  should  do  so.  The  time  and 
expense  of  conveyance  to  their  distant  stations  are  im- 
portant considerations ;  and  after  they  have  spent  some 
years  in  acquiring  a  foreign  language,  it  would  be  a  great 
loss  to  leave  the  people  for  whose  benefit  it  has  been  ac- 
quired. But  the  Board  have  never  objected  to  a  mission- 
ary's leaving  his  field,  when  in  his  own  opinion  and  that 
of  his  colleagues,  his  health,  life  and  usefulness  require  his 
removal. 


168  MEMOIR    OF 

Journal  of  a  tour  of  eight  days,  on  the  continent  adjoin- 
ing Bombay* 

"  Feb.  25,  1821.  We  have  now  seven  schools,  in  a 
Hne,  on  the  continent,  extending  about  sixty  miles  on  the 
coast,  east  and  south  of  Bombay.  About  forty  miles  to 
the  north  of  Panwell,  is  Basseen,  where  we  have  long 
had  a  fine  school.  This  makes  the  whole  range  of 
our  schools  on  the  coast,  about  one  hundred  miles.  The 
intermediate  towns  are  numerous,  and  most  of  them  en- 
tirely destitute  of  schools.  Many  Bramhuns  and  others 
hav.e  begged  to  be  employed  as  teachers.  But  we  are 
afi-aid  of  going  beyond  our  means. 

At  Allabag,*  I  waited  on  the  Regent,  who  received 
me  very  courteously  ;  we  spent  an  hour  in  discussing  re- 
ligious topics,  in  the  audience  of  a  large  number  of  his 
court.  This  was ,  Saturday  evening.  The  hour  for  an- 
other interview  on  the  Sabbath  was  appointed,  and,  on 
account  of  its  being  the  Sabbath,  it  was  stipulated  that 
the  conversation  should  be  confined  to  religious  subjects. 
I  had  some  favorable  opportunities  for  publishing  the  gos- 
pel in  this  capital. 

It  was  a  time  of  weddings  ;f  and  as  the  bridegroom 
must,  if  possible,  proceed  to  the  house  of  the  bride  on 
horse-back,  all  the  horses  of  the  town  were  engaged  ; 
and  I  could  not  procure  one  to  proceed  on  my  journey. 

*  The  capital  of  an  independent  native  prince. 

f  Among  the  Hindoos,  the  time  for  celebrating  marriages  is 
determined  by  astrological  calculations.  So  that  on  these  ten 
or  twelve  fortunate  days,  nearly  all  the  marriages  of  the  year 
are  celebrated. 


GORDON    HALL.  169 

When  I  intimated  this,  to  the  Regent,  he  most  readily- 
furnished  me  with  a  horse  and  ostler,  from  the  govern- 
ment stables.  This  is  the  second  time  that  this  Bram- 
hinical  ruler  has  granted  me  faciUties  for  travelling  and 
preaching  the  gospel  in  his  territory.  May  the  Lord  re- 
ward him  with  his  grace  and  salvation ! 

Near  Nagotnea,  I  met  with  what  was  to  me  a  great 
curiosity.  It  was  a  stone  bridge  of  eight  or  ten  arches, 
built  280  years  ago,  as  I  was  informed  by  the  Portuguese. 
It  is  narrow,  but  in  good  condition,  except  a  part  of  the 
side-railing.  What  most  excited  my  attention,  was  a 
kind  of  pavement  of  lime  and  gravel  which  formed  th^ 
upper  surface  of  the  bridge.  In  some  spots,  this  vvas 
broken  up,  but  in  general,  it  remained,  after  being  ex- 
posed 280  years,  to  all  seasons  and  to  all  usage,  so  entire- 
ly undecayed,  that  it  seems  as  hard  and  unyielding  as  the 
solid  rock.  It  is  confessed  that  the  Portuguese  possessed 
very  surprising  skill  in  masbnry.  THeir  fortifications  and 
other  public  works  clearly  show  it. 

Since  I  have  stepped  aside  to  •  speak  of  curiosities,  I 
will  just  mention  another,  which,  for  ought  I  know,  has 
already  been  repeated  a  thousand  times.  Some  time 
since,  our  assistant  translator,  in  proof  that  the  Kooncan 
country*  once  formed  a  part  of  the  ocean's  bed,  stated, 
that  sea-shells  are  to  be  found  adhering  to,  and  combined 
with  the  rocks  on  the  mountains  bounding  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Kooncan.-«— And  beyond  the  great  mountains, 
as  well  as  on  this  side,  timbers,  domestic  utensils,  demol- 
ished houses,  wells,  temples  and  gods  are  found  by  dig- 


*  The  Kooncan  lies  between  the  sea-shore  and  the  ghauts, 

15 


170  MEMOIR  OF 

ging  5,  10,  and  15  cubits  below  the  surface :  particularly 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Kalapoore.  I  have  since  heard 
the  same  testimony  confirmed  by  other  natives." 

The  Bombay  mission  has  from  the  first  employed 
more  or  less  Jevv^ish  teachers  in  their  schools.  These 
Jews  are  from  Cochin,  and  are  what  Buchanan  denomi- 
nates "  Black  Jews."  They  generally  pretend  to  read 
Hebrew,  but  they  do  not  understand  it.  They  have  a 
small  Synagogue  in  Bombay,  where  they  meet  for  wor- 
ship every  seventh  day.  Of  the  comparative  excellence 
of  these  Jews  for  teachers,  Mr.  Hall  thus  speaks. 

"  My  own  observation  leads  me  to  think,  that 

other  things  being  equal,  a  decided  preference  is  due  to 
the  Jews  as  teachers,  rather  than  to  any  other  class  of 
natives.  Though  they  naturally  hate  us  as  Christians, 
yet  the  veneration  which  we  have  for  the  patriarchs  and 
prophets,  the  pious  kings  and  fathers  of  ancient  Israel, 
names  so  dear  to  all  the  children  of  Abraham,  and  our 
familiar  acquaintance  with  their  scriptures,  of  which  them- 
selves are  so  ignorant,  and  of  the  whole  history  of  their 
nation,  compels  them  irresistibly  to  feel  and  acknowledge 
us  to  be  a  nearer  kin  to  them  than  any  other  people  on 
earth,  and  inspires  them  with  an  involuntary  respect  for  us. 
What  the  school-books  contain  of  the  Old  Testament  is  ex- 
ceedingly interesting  to  them,  as  it  relates  so  much  to  the 
history  of  their  own  nation.  They  are  therefore  more  in- 
clined to  read  our  books  than  the  Hindoos  are.  Again, 
the  Jews  are  in  a  great  measure  exempt  from  the  preju- 
dices, which  a  Hindoo,  true  to  his  religion,  must  have 
against  our  books,  which  every  where  directly  contradict 


GORDON    HALL.  171 

and  stamp  with  sin  and  infamy,  almost  every  thing  that 
the  Hindoo  deems  sacred.  And  again,  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures  require  the  Jew  to  execrate  every  appearance 
of  idolatry  ;  and  far  more  do  they  forbid  him  to  teach  it, 
as  the  Hindoo  is  expected  to  do,  and  will  do,  unless  the 
greatest  care  is  taken  to  prevent  it. 

Such  are  some  of  the  reasons,  which  entitle  the  Jews 
to  a  preference  as  school-teachers,  and  tend  to  give  the 

schools  under  their  care,  a  superiority. We  have  now 

six  Jews  in  our  employ." 

The  compiler  cannot  but  indulge  in  a  few  reflections 
suggested  by  the  preceding  extracts,  having  reference 
particularly  to  the  mission  schools.  The  first,  respects 
the  extent  of  territory,  over  which  the  schools  are  scatter- 
ed. They  not  only  exist  in  the  several  neighborhoods 
on  the  islands  of  Bombay  and  Salsette,  but  they  have 
been  extended  100  miles  on  the  coast  of  the  adjoining 
continent,  and  more  recently  in  the  interior.  They  are 
indeed  thinly  dispersed,  and  embrace  only  a  small  part  of 
the  children,  who  are  growing  up  in  ignorarxe.  But  as 
the  resources  of  the  mission  are  very  hmited,  these  schools 
are  thus  scattered,  that  a  wider  influence  may  be  given  to 
them. 

The  opportunity  which  these  schools  afford  the  mis- 
sionaries of  communicating  religious  instruction  not  only 
to  the  children,  but  to  their  parents  and  friends,  is  worthy 
of  special  attention.  The  school-rooms  are  in  fact  chap- 
els, where  the  missionaries  preach  the  gospel  to  the  whole 
neighborhood,  who  usually  assemble,  whenever  the  school 
is  visited  by   the  missionaries.      Besides,  not  only   the 


172  MEMOIR    OF 

scholars,  but  their  parents  and  friends  manifest  a  warm 
attachment  to  the  mission  ;  and  in  this  way  the  mission 
acquires  an  influence,  which  it  could  obtain  by  no  other 
means. 

Several  years  may  indeed  elapse  before  we  shall  hear 
much  of  the  good  effects  of  these  schools  ;  but  it  is  impos- 
sible that  children  thus  educated  should  ever  become  big- 
oted pagans ;  and  there  is  reason  to  hope  that  the  gospel, 
in  which  they  are  so  fully  instructed,  will  by  and  by  take 
hold  of  their  hearts.  It  is  but  reasonable  to  expect,  that 
when  these  boys,  thus  educated,  shall  become  men  and 
take  an  active  part  on  the  stage  of  life,  their  influence 
will  be  extensively  felt  as  teachers  of  schools  and  in  other 
departments  of  life.  Christians  should  in  a  special  man- 
ner remember  these  schools  in  their  prayers,  at  the  month- 
ly concert  and  on  other  occasions,  that  the  Lord  would 
visit  them  by  the  influences  of  his  Spirit,  and  make  them 
the  nurseries  of  future  preachers  of  the  gospel  to  the  sur- 
rounding heathen. 

Extract  from  Mr,  HalTs  Journal, 

"  March  17,  1821.  This  evening  have  had  a  sec- 
ond conference  with  a  company  of  respectable  Mohamme- 
dans. Some  days  ago,  I  distributed  among  them  sever- 
al copies  of  Matthew's  gospel,  which  they  have  read. — 
They  brought  forward  the  gospel  and  a  book  of  their  own, 
which  they  said  contained  all  the  prophets.  They  began 
with  our  Lord's  conception,  and  as  Matthew's  account  of  it 
did  not  agree  with  their  own,  they  wished  me  to  reconcile 
the  two.     I  told  them  I  should  not  undertake  to  reconcile 


GORDON    HALL.  173 

the  Christian  Scriptures  with  the  Coran, — that  if  the  Bi- 
ble was  true,  the  Coran  was  false  ;  both  could  not  be 
true,  and  desired  them  to  search  out  the  true  one. 

19.  To-day  I  have  been  employed  in  writing  an  ad- 
dress to  the  Mussulmauns,  in  the  Hindoostanee  language  ; 
subject  of  which  is,  Christ  contrasted  with  Mohammed." 

25.  Called  on  the  Mussulmauns,  and  lent  them  the 
address.  The  previous  conference  has  evidently  produc- 
ed considerable  agitation  in  their  minds.  After  making 
some  brief  remarks,  I  took  my  leave  of  them,  as  they 
seemed  too  much  agitated  for  calm  and  candid  discussion. 
I  could  not  but  hope  their  agitation  might  result,  in  some 
measure,  from  the  power  of  divine  truth  upon  their  guilty 
consciences.  O  that  their  proud  hearts  may  be  made  to 
bow  to  the  cross  of  that  crucified  Jesus,  whom  they  now 
contemptuously  neglect ! 

April  30.  For  a  month  past  I  have  felt  more  ani- 
mated in  the  missionary  work,  than  is  usual  for  me.  *  *  * 
During  the  month  I  have  written  a  tract,  which  perhaps 
may  be  named  "  An  appeal  to  Protestant  churches  of  all 
denominations,  in  behalf  of  the  heathen."  My  own  mind 
has  been  and  still  is  deeply  impressed  with  the  subject. 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  Christian  public  are  expecting 
that  the  world  will  be  converted  in  an  easy  and  convenient 
way,  without  any  very  great  self-denials,  or  any  very  extra- 
ordinary exertions.  But  such  a  sentiment  is  most  obviously 
repugnant  to  the  general  tenor  of  the  gospel  on  this  subject, 
and  contrary  to  the  whole  history  of  the  church.  The  ob- 
jections now  urged  against  indefatigable  exertions  for  Chris- 
tianizing the  heathen,  may  be  urged  with  the  same  plausibil- 
ity by  the  next  generation,  and  again  by  the  next  and  so  on, 
15* 


174  MEMOIR    OF    GORDON    HALL. 

without  leaving  us  any  prospect  (except  the  promises  of 
God)  that  the  world  will  ever  be  converted  to  Christ.  Should 
the  great  Redeemer  say  to  his  churches,  "  Come,  let  us 
reason  together"  on  this  matter.  What  could  they  say  ? — 
O  that  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  full  measure,  may  descend  upon 
the  churches,  and  make  them  faithful  to  the  souls  of  their 
fellow-men,  as  well  as  to  their  own, — faithful  also  to  the 
commands  and  to  the  glory  of  their  Redeemer  ! 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


AN  APPEAL  TO  CHRISTIANS  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  HEATHEN. 


"  The  ability  and  duty  of  Christian  Churches  to  fur- 
nish all  nations  of  the  world  with  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel,  are  points  generally  conceded.  Surely  none  will 
hesitate  to  admit  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  churches  to 
employ  the  necessary  means  for  the  salvation  of  all  na- 
tions, provided  they  have  the  ability  for  furnishing  the 
means. 

But  should  any  entertain  doubts  on  the  point  of  abil- 
ity to  furnish  the  means  necessary,  let  them  carefully  ex- 
amine the  subject. — Let  them  suppose  the  term  churches 
to  denote  only  that  part  of  Protestant  Christians  of  all  de- 
nominations, who  acknowledge  it  to  be  their  duty  to  seek 


*  The  manuscript  from  which  this  chapter  is  taken  con- 
tains the  "  Appeal"  refered  to,  near  the  close  of  the  last  chap- 
ter. It  was  written  with  an  expectation  that  it  would  be  ulti- 
mately published  in  the  form  of  a  tract.  But  on  a  careful  exam- 
ination of  the  manuscript,  the  compiler  has  thought  proper  to 
make  copious  extracts  from  it,  in  the  form  of  an  abridgement, 
rather  than  to  publish  the  whole. 


176  MEMOIR    OF 

the  salvation  of  their  fellow-men,  and  who  actually  con- 
tribute more  or  less  in  aid  of  the  benevolent  and  religious 
objects  of  the  present  day  ;  even  with  this  restriction, 
how  great  is  the  ability,  which  the  churches  possess? 
Can  any  candid  inquirer  pretend  for  a  moment,  that,  in 
these  churches,  there  are  not  pious  men  enough,  to  go 
into  all  the  world  to  preach  the  gospel? — or  can  it 
any  more  be  doubted  that  the  churches  have  money 
enough  to  prepare,  send  them  forth,  and  support  them  ? 
No  matter  how  great  self-denials,  sacrifices,  labors  and 
sufferings  are  involved  in  accomplishing  this  end ; — all 
that  is  nothing  to  the  present  point.  If  at  any  rate  what- 
ever, they  have  men  enough  to  send,  and  money  enough 
to  support  them,  then  it  is  certainly  possible  for  them  to 
furnish  all  nations  with  the  preaching  of  the  gospel ;  and 
if  possible,  then  they  have  the  ability  to  do  it. 

The  Christian  churches  ought  therefore,  and  as  a 
general  thing,  they  do  acknowledge  it  their  duty,  in  obe- 
dience to  the  command  of  Christ,  to  preach  his  gospel 
to  every  creature.  But  though  they  have  the  ability  and 
acknowledge  the  duty,  they  not  only  neglect  almost  entire- 
ly to  perform  it,  but  they  do  not  even  adopt  a  'principle  of 
action  that  corresponds  v/ith  the  duty  avowed,  and  withir 
out  which,  it  is  preposterous  to  expect  it  wil\  ever  be 
performed. 

This  want  of  a  principle  of  action,  corresponding  with 
the  duty  avowed,  is  manifest  from  the  deficiency  of  means 
employed.  Upon  the  lowest  calculation  out  of  800,000, 
000  of  mankind  now  on  earth,  not  less  than  600,000,000, 
or  three  fourths  of  the  whole,  are  entirely  destitute  of  the 
appointed  means  of  salvation.     According  to  other  esti- 


GORDON    HALL.  177 

mates,  the  population  of  the  globe  may  be  stated  at  1, 
000,000,000,  which  would  leave  800,000,000,  that  is, 
four  out  of  five  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  world,  destitute 
of  the  gospel ;  with  the  exception  of  those  few,  to  whom 
missionaries  in  heathen  lands  are  now  preaching  it. 

Now  what  number  of  preachers  would  be  an  ade- 
quate and  reasonable  supply  for  all  the  unevangelized  na- 
tions of  the  earth  ?  The  number  has  been  estimated  at 
30,000,  which  gives  no  more  than  one  preacher  to  twen- 
ty or  twenty-five  thousand  souls.  No  one,  I  believe,  has 
undertaken  to  show  that  this  number  is  overrated.  The 
churches  then  must  not  flatter  themselves  that  they  have 
performed  their  duty,  in  this  thing,  till  this  number  is  fur- 
nished and  at  work  in  the  field. 

But  what  is  the  number  of  preachers,  which  all  the 
churches  united,  are  now  employing  as  missionaries 
among  the  heathen  ?  Let  the  number  be  put  at  500,* 
which  probably  exceeds  the  amount  of  the  whole,  and 
we  have  but  one  sixteenth  part  of  the  number  required. 
Unless  we  suppose  that  one  man  can  perform  the  labor  which 
requires  all  the  energies  of  sixty,  then  sixty  laborers  are  ab- 
solutely required,  where  there  is  now  but  one.  If  there- 
fore there  be  any  prospect,  that  the  world  will  be  convert- 
ed to  Christ,  that  prospect  does  not  arise  from  the  num- 
ber  of  preachers  now  in  the  field.  By  such  a  great  de- 
ficiency in  the  means  they  employ,  do  not  the  churches 
practically  deny  that  they  aim  at  the  conversion  of  the 
world  ?  In  what  other  way  can  the  question  be  solved  ? 
— What  can  be  more  inconsistent  and  absurd,  than  for 

*  It  will  be  recollected  this  estimate  was  made  in  1821. 


178  MEMOIR  OF 

the  churches  to  admit  that  it  is  their  duty  to  send  a 
preached  gospel  to  all  nations — that  they  have  the  ahil- 
ity  requisite  for  discharging  the  duty,  while  in  fact,  they 
do  it  not  ? — Century  after  century  rolls  away,  and  the 
duty  is  not  performed. 

But  in  palliation  of  this  alleged  deficiency,  it  may  be 
said,  that  the  churches  are  fast  aivaking  to  their  duty — 
the  present  is  a  new  era  in  the  church, — "  As  the  effort 
now  making  is  without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  the 
church  of  God,  we  have  reason  to  anticipate  unparalleled 
results. — The  various  associations,  for  the  general  difRi- 
sion  of  truth  and  salvation,  are  so  rapidly  increasing  in 
numbers,  resources  and  operations,  that  if  we  cannot 
announce  the  millennium  actually  commenced,  we  may 

exult  in  its  near  approach." Such  seems  to  be  the 

strain  in  which  many  write  and  speak,  at  the  present 
day. 

Surely  every  benevolent  mind  will  most  devoutly  re- 
joice in  the  great  and  encouraging  things,  now  doing  for 
the  perfection  of  Zion  ; — every  one  will  desire  and  pray 
and  strive  that  these  efforts  may  be  increased  a  thousand 
fold. 

But  in  the  midst  of  our  joy,  let  us  guard  against  de- 
lusion. If  our  eyes  and  our  ears  are  blessed  with  the 
vision  and  tidings  of  great  and  good  things  springing  up 
and  flourishing  in  our  day,  let  us  not  employ  them  as  an 
excuse  for  duties  still  neglected,  or  magnify  them  beyond 
their  just  proportion,  in  the  great  work  to  be  accomplished. 

Let  it  be  admitted  that  the  church,  at  the  present 
day,  is  doing  more,  that  is  promotive  of  the  conversion  of 
the  world,  than  at  any  former  period  ;  is  it  not  obvious 


GORDON    HALL.  179* 

that  she  must  greatly  multiply  her  exertions  in  order  to 
gain  her  object  ?  Unless  present  operations  for  the  uni- 
versal spread  of  the  gospel  are  increased  fifty  or  sixty 
fold,  where  is  the  prospect  that  our  work  will  be  accom- 
plished ? 

Again,  there  is  great  deficiency  in  many  missionary 
sermons,  and  addresses  of  the  present  day.  In  these  va- 
rious productions  it  is  maintained  in  the  clearest  manner 
possible,  that  the  churches  are  in  duty  bound  to  employ 
the  requisite  means  for  bringing  all  nations  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  true  God,  and  that  they  are  abundantly  able 
to  discharge  this  duty.  It  has  been  proved  satisfactorly, 
that  the  churches  might  soon  accomplish  this  work,  with- 
out any  very  great  self-denial.  It  is  said,  "  if  all  would 
unite,  and  each  one  would  bear  his  part,  none  would  be 
greatly  burdened, — none  would  be  required  to  part  with 
the  ordinary  comforts  and  conveniences  of  life, — if  each 
would  lop  oflf  a  part  of  his  superfluities,  and  add  a  little 
to  his  industry  and  economy,  a  small  part  of  his  income 
would  be  sufficient." 

It  is  truly  desirable  that  all  should  thus  unite  and 
each  contribute  his  share  in  this  work.  But  is  it  a  fact 
that  all  do  thus  perform  their  part  ? — for  unless  they  do 
very  generally  unite  and  co-operate,  the  plan  fails.  The 
experiment  has  been  made, — Christians  have  long  been 
called  upon  to  come  forward  and  contribute,  each  his 
share,  but  they  have  not  done  it.  They  are  still  called 
upon,  and  yet  but  a  small  portion  of  the  whole  engaged 
in  the  work.     What  then  is  to  be  done  ? 

This  presentation  of  the  subject  does  not,  and  never 


•180  MEMOIR    OF 

will  reach  the  exigencies  of  the  case.  In  this  popular 
view  of  the  subject,  is  there  not  something,  which  induc- 
es in  the  public  mind,  the  conclusion,  that  the  conversion 
of  the  world  is  to  be  accomplished  in  a  very  easy  and 
convenient  way  ?  Individual  pastors  and  churches,  per- 
haps may  be  found,  who  imagine  that  they  do  their  full 
share,  and  therefore  rest  satisfied,  and  expect  to  receive 
the  approbation  of  their  Lord,  for  having  done  their  duty 
in  this  cause.  If  the  heathen  are  not  soon  converted, 
the  failure  must  be  resolved  into  the  mysterious  purposes 
of  Providence  ; — or  if  guilt  is  involved  in  the  failure,  it 
must  either  rest  upon  the  perverse  heathen  or  upon  those 
drones  in  the  church,  who  have  not  contributed  their 
proportionate  share. 

Now  if  the  manner  in  which  this  subject  is  presented, 
at  the  present  day,  does  lead  to  such  a  conclusion,  in  the 
public  mind,  it  is  time  to  pause,  and  shift  our  ground. 
This  easy  and  convenient  kind  of  experiment  has  been 
running  on  ever  since  the  Reformation ;  and  what  has 
it  effected  ?  For  the  last  few  years,  it  has  been  plied 
with  new  zeal  and  augmented  energy,  and  it  has  only 
furnished  the  present  prospects,  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
do  not  warrant  us  in  the  anticipation  of  the  conversion  of 
the  world,  at  any  assignable  future  period. 

While  this  experiment  has  been  running  on,  how 
many  generations  of  the  pagan  world  have  lived  and  died 
in  total  ignorance  of  the  only  Savior  of  sinners ! — How 
appalling  the  thought. — How  dreadful  the  consequences 
of  depending  on  this  method  for  the  accomplishment  of 
this  great  work  !  How  much  longer  must  the  experi- 
ment run  on — and  how  many  generations  of  the  unevangel- 


GORDON    HALL.  1ST 

ized  nations  of  the  earth,  must  die  in  their  sins,  before 
the  churches  will  be  convinced,  that  the  world  is  not  to 
be  rescued  from  the  power  of  sin  and  satan  in  this  easy 
and  convenient  way ! 

Beloved  brethren  in  the  Lord,  let  us  approach  our 
crucified  Redeemer  and  learn  of  him  ; — let  us  take  a  les- 
son from  his  apostles,  martyrs  and  primitive  disciples. — 
From  the  bloody  agonies  of  Immanuel  at  Gethsemane  and 
from  his  ignominious  crucifixion  on  Calvary — from  the 
voluntary  poverty,  labors,  sufferings  and  martyrdom  of 
his  apostles  and  primitive  followers,  let  us  imbibe,  retain, 
exemplify  and  diffuse  the  divinely  inspired  sentiment, 
that  The  world  must  he  converted  to  Christ,  let  the  cost 
he  ivhat  it  may. 

Why  should  we  be  so  ready  to  believe  that  the  world 
will  be  so  easily  and  so  conveniently  converted  ?  Do 
the  aggregate  sufferings  of  the  Son  of  God  countenance 
such  a  supposition  ?  Or  are  we  to  suppose  that  the 
apostles,  with  their  cotemporaries  and  immediate  succes- 
sors, vested  as  they  were  with  miraculous  powers,  must 
part  with  their  ease,  their  convenience,  their  safety  and 
their  property,  and,  laboring  and  suffering  beyond  meas- 
ure, must  literally  forsalce  all  for  Christ,  and  by  thou- 
sands lay  down  their  lives  in  testimony  for  the  truth,  and 
all  this  must  be  done  to  accomplish  the  partial  propaga- 
tion of  Christianity  among  one  fourth  part  of  the  idola- 
trous population  of  the  earth ; — -and,  with  all  this  before 
our  eyes,  can  we  suppose  that  the  other  three  fourths  of 
the  world  will  be  converted  in  this  easy  and  convenient 
way  ?  Was  the  power  of  sin  and  Satan  so  mighty  in  the 
earth,  in  those  ancient  days,  as  to  require  so  many  illus- 
16 


182  MEMOIR  OF 

trlous  persons  and  so  many  miraculous  gifts  to  be  en- 
joyed, and  such  extraordinary  exertions,  labors  and  suf- 
ferings to  be  employed  to  convert  one  quarter  of  the 
world,  and  has  the  same  power  become  so  exceedingly 
reduced  in  our  day,  as  to  require  only  such  easy  and  gen- 
tle exertions  to  effect  the  conversion  of  the  other  three 
fourths  1  Preposterous  as  this  may  seem,  does  not  the 
gentle  strain  in  which  the  churches  are  called  upon  to 
make  their  convenient  contributions,  and  the  feeble  exer- 
tions which  are  actually  put  forth,  for  the  conversion  of 
the  world,  fully  imply  all  this  ? 

Again  ; — if  we  advert  to  the  terms  of  the  mandate  by 
which  our  blessed  Lord  and  Master  requires  his  follow- 
ers to  go  into  all  the  world  and  disciple  all  nations, — do 
we  there  find  any  thing  to  countenance  the  flattering  sup- 
position ?  Did  he  say  to  his  disciples,  go  ye  into  all  the 
world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,  provided 
you  can  do  it  in  an  easy  and  convenient  way  ? — Did  he 
say,  go — do  what  I  command  you,  provided  you  can  do 
it  without  materially  curtailing  your  luxuries,  abridging 
your  conveniences,  or  checking  the  growth  of  your  for- 
tunes ; — go,  and  do  it,  provided  it  can  be  accomplished, 
without  exhausting  your  property  and  abandoning  your 
families  and  friends  to  poverty  and  want ; — yea,  go  and 
do  as  I  have  said  unto  you,  provided  you  can  do  so, 
and  not  hazard  your  lives  7  Does  our  divine  Lord  and 
Master  propound  or  intimate  any  such  conditions  ? — Far 
from  it.  Ease,  convenience,  safety,  property  and  every 
thing  that  we  have  and  are,  so  far  as  they  can  promote 
the  work  of  evangelizing]  the  world,  are  required.     All 


GORDON    HALL.  183 

that  a  man  hath,  will  he  give  for  his  life,  yet  life  itself  is 
not  excepted  in  the  requisition.  To  withhold  our  life, 
and  much  more  any  thing  else,  which  if  devoted,  would 
subserve  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom 
among  men,  is  disobedience  to  his  command.  All  must 
be  held  unreservedly  consecrated  to  him,  and  all  must  be 
invested  and  actually  expended  in  his  cause,  and  in  that 
way,  which  will  best  advance  it.  Will  any  one  dare  to 
limit  his  Redeemer's  command  to  any  thing  short  of  this  ? 
If  we  do  not  give  all  this  latitude  to  our  Savior's  man- 
date, in  application  to  ourselves  and  to  those  whom  we 
summon  to  the  work,  we  do  it  habitually  in  various  other 
ways.  *  =J«=  *  *  *  We  do  it,  as  often  as  we  contemplate 
^^  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,"  who  was  rich  in  the  posses- 
sions of  the  whole  universe,  yet  to  save  the  world,  be- 
came so  poor  that  he  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,  and 
finally  suffered  the  death  of  crucifixion  ;  thus  leaving  us 
an  example,  that  we  should  w^alk  in  his  steps,  and  learn 
of  him  to  become  poor,  if  required,  and  even  to  lay  down 
our  lives  for  our  brethren  of  the  human  race,  that  they 
through  the  instrumentality  of  our  poverty  and  sufferings 
and  labors,  may  be  rich  in  grace  and  heirs  of  eternal 
life. 

Again,  we  implicitly  give  the  same  unlimited  extent 
to  our  Savior's  command,  as  often  as  we  recollect,  with 
approbation,  how  many  ministers  and  private  Christians 
of  the  first  centuries,  literally  suffered  the  loss  of  all 
things  ;  travelled,  labored,  suffered  and  died  to  propagate 
Christianity  among  the  pagans  of  the  Roman  empire. 
The  worth  of  the  gospel,  the  value  of  immortal  souls,  and 


184  MEMOIR    OF 

the  impending  ruin  of  idolaters  were  no  greater  then,  than 
now ;  nor  are  ease,  property,  safety  and  life,  more  dear 
to  Christians  now,  than  in  those  distant  ages.  There- 
fore by  approving,  as  we  do,  of  the  zeal,  the  energy,  the 
activity,  the  self-denial,  the  sufferings  and  all  the  sacrifi- 
ces with  which  those  primitive  Christians  propagated  the 
gospel,  we  admit  the  unlimited  import  of  Christ's  com- 
mand, and  solemnly  bind  ourselves  to  go  and  do  likewise. 

The  churches  now,  as  in  all  former  ages,  deem  it  right 
and  highly  commendable  for  some  of  Christ's  disciples  to 
renounce  all  prospects  of  worldly  emolument  and  ease,  to 
commit  themselves,  and  their  families,  if  they  have  any, 
under  Providence,  into  the  hands  of  charity, — to  forego 
the  comforts  and  endearments  of  civilized  society  and 
Christian  firiends — to  brave  every  danger,  whether  from 
the  raging  billows  of  the  ocean,  the  sickly  climate,  or  the 
sanguinary  barbarian,  and  to  meet  death  in  whatever  time, 
place  or  form  it  may  be  allotted  them, — and  all  this,  for 
the  sake  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  heathen. 

Here  again,  the  same  broad  principle  of  action  is  im- 
plicitly admitted ;  for  by  approving,  and,  as  is  the  fact, 
requiring  all  this  of  missionaries,  they  do  virtually  bind 
themselves  to  make  corresponding  sacrifices  and  exer- 
tions, for  the  same  end. 

This  is  not  intended  as  a  complaint,  that  Christians 
at  home  require  too  much  of  their  missionaries.  The 
most,  that  any  missionaries  have  done,  comes  short  of  the 
standard  of  the  gospel.  The  point  here  insisted  on  is, 
that  Christians  at  home,  do  not  apply  to  themselves  that 
principle  of  action,  on  which  they  expect  and  require  mis- 
sionaries to  act.     Let  this  point  be  attentively  consider- 


GORDON    HALL. 


185 


ed  ; — compare  the  whole  amount  of  what  the  missionary 
sacrifices  to  the  object,  with  the  few  shiUings  or  dollars 
contributed  by  Christians  at  home,  dwelling  in  Immanu- 
el's  land,  surrounded  with  all  the  comforts  and  endear- 
ments of  life.  The  missionary  is  a  man  as  well  as  they, 
and  has  as  keen  a  relish  and  as  high  a  claim  for  these  com- 
forts and  endearments  as  themselves ;  nor  is  the  com- 
mand of  Christ  to  disciple  all  nations,  less  binding  on 
themselves  than  on  the  missionary.  On  what  principle 
therefore  do  the  churches  require  missionaries  to  sacri- 
fice so  much,  while  they  themselves  do  so  little  ? — By 
what  rule  in  the  gospel,  do  they  bind  such  heavy  bur- 
dens upon  other  "  men's  shoulders,' '  while  comparatively, 
they  have  hardly  "  touched  them  with  one  of  their  fin- 
gers ?" 

I  am  not  pleading  that  missionaries  should  be  eased 
of  their  burdens,  or  alleviated  in  their  sacrifices.  I  love 
the  missionary  work  with  all  its  burdens  and  sacrifices  ; — 
no,  I  plead  with  Christians  that  they  would  act  consis- 
tently ; — I  entreat  them  to  behold  in  what  they  require 
of  their  missionaries,  the  measure  of  their  own  duty  to 
Christ  and  to  the  heathen.  ,  Let  them  impartially  bring 
home  to  their  own  hearts,  the  last  mandate  of  their  risen 
Savior,  and  do  as  much  for  advancing  his  cause,  and  the 
conversion  of  the  world,  as  they  most  reasonably  require 
of  missionaries.  Most  solemnly  do  I  beseech  them  delib- 
erately to  examine,  whether  by  requiring  so  much  of 
missionaries,  they  do  not  virtually  admit,  that  Christ  re- 
quires of  themselves  corresponding  sacrifices  and  exertions 
in  the  same  cause. 

Until  a  principle  of  action  more  commensurate  with 
16* 


186  MEMOIR    OF 

the  duty  enjoined,  is  adopted,  and  the  work  of  evangeliz- 
ing the  heathen  is  more  equally  shared  among  Christians 
generally,  as  was  the  fact  in  the  first  age  of  the  church, 
we  have  no  good  reason  to  expect  that  the  world  will  be 
converted. 

Further ;  we  have  seen  individuals  come  forward 
with  extraordinary  liberality  and  consecrate  a  great  part, 
and  in  some  instances,  the  wJioh  of  their  property  to  the 
promotion  of  religious  objects  ; — we  extol  their  liberality, 
and  if  it  flows  from  love  to  God  and  man,  we  hesitate  not 
to  say,  "  that  great  will  be  their  reward  in  heaven." 
But  what  does  our  commendation  imply  ?  No  action  is 
worthy  of  commendation  on  earth  or  reward  in  heaven, 
any  farther  than  it  is  in  conformity  to  the  will  and  com- 
mands of  Christ.  To  be  consistent  therefore,  when  we 
commend  such  liberality,  we  must  do  it  in  the  belief,  that 
it  is  the  will  and  command  of  Christ  that  such  great  lib- 
erality should  be  exercised  by  his  people.  But  can  we 
believe,  that  the  righteous  Sovereign  of  the  world  is  par- 
tial,  requiring  some  to  give  much,  while  he  exempts 
others  from  giving  in  a  similar  proportion  ? 

Again ;  whenever  we  acknowledge  that  we  are  not 
our  own,  but  that  Christ  has  redeemed  us  to  God  by  his 
precious  blood, — whenever  we  pray  for  grace  to  hold 
ourselves  and  all  that  we  have,  devoted  to  God  ; — when- 
ever we  profess  to  dedicate  ourselves  and  our  all  to  him, 
to  be  disposed  of  at  his  pleasure  and  for  his  glory,  we 
implicitly  acknowledge  that  it  is  our  duty  to  devote  our 
time,  our  talents,  our  labors,  our  property  and  our  lives 
to  him,  and  actually  to  invest  and  expend  them  all  for 


GORDON    HALL.  187 

the  advancement  of  his  kingdom  in  the  world.  What 
less  can  we  mean  when  we  profess  to  forsake  all  for 
Christ  ? — Let  every  one  search  into  the  secrets  of  his 
own  heart  and  see  how  this  matter  stands. 

What  sacrifices  and  exertions  must  be  made  by  the 
churches  before  the  world  can  be  converted ! — What  a 
host  of  missionaries  must  be  raised  up  ! — What  vast  pe- 
cuniary supplies  must  be  furnished  ?  The  measures  now 
in  operation  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  great  work 
are  so  disproportionate  to  the  end  sought,  as  to  forbid  the 
anticipation  of  its  accomplishment,  for  ages  yet  to  come, 
if  at  any  assignable  future  period.  As  it  respects  their 
own  instrumentality  in  this  work,  the  churches  have  in- 
culcated no  principle  of  action,  nor  organized  any  scheme 
of  operation,  which  is  at  all  commensurate  with  the  ob- 
ject sought.  It  is  therefore  obvious  that  something  more 
must  be  done,  something  great  must  be  devised  and 
executed, 

I  am  well  aware  that  this  may  be  a  "  stumbling  block" 
to  some  and  "  foolishness"  to  others. — I  know  indeed 
that  worldliness  and  scepticism  may  tauntingly  ask,  *  How 
can  these  things  be  ? — How  can  such  a  severe  principle 
of  action  be  adopted  in  the  present  state  of  the  world  ? — 
How  can  the  requisite  number  of  missionaries  be  obtain- 
ed?— and  if  obtained,  who  would  support  them? — How 
would  it  be  consistent  or  practicable  for  all  Christians  to 
give  themselves  and  their  all,  for  the  promulgation  of  the 
gospel  through  the  earth,  as  has  been  described  ?' 

When  once  there  exists  in  the  church  a  mind  will- 
ing and  anxious  to  know  and  perform  her  whole  duty  on 
this  subject,  every  such  objection  will  vanish.     Such  que- 


188  MEMOIR    OF 

ries  however,  if  brought  forward,  not  as  cavils,  but  as 
matters  of  candid  investigation,  are  of  great  importance. — 
Such  an  investigation,  in  the  present  state  of  things, 
would  be  very  reasonable,  and  promise  great  good.  And 
unless  the  subject  be  taken  up  and  thoroughly  examined, 
and  pubhcly  discussed,  how  is  the  church  to  be  enligthen- 
ed,  and  how  will  Christians  be  taught  their  duty  and 
persuaded  to  do  it  ? 

Since  the  churches  are  able  to  employ  the  requisite 
means  for  the  conversion  of  the  world,  but  do  not  employ 
more  than  a  sixteenth  part  of  those  means,  this  deficiency 
in  all  its  extent  and  consequences  should  be  pointed  out 
to  them.  In  no  other  way  can  we  reasonably  expect  that 
they  will  duly  understand  the  magnitude  of  their  deficien- 
cy, and  justly  estimate  the  guilt  of  their  neglect. 

When  once  the  churches  understandingly  settle  the  sub- 
ject, according  to  its  own  merits,  and  fairly  examine  its 
claims,  with  a  desire  and  a  holy  purpose  to  meet  them, 
a  thousand  expedients,  before  unseen  and  unthought  of 
will  be  developed  and  successfully  entered  upon. 

Among  other  inquiries  it  is  one  of  great  importance, 
Whether  the  ministers  of  Christ,  at  the  present  day, 
might  not  vary  the  appropriation  of  their  labours  with 
great  advantage  to  the  cause  of  Christianity  in  the  world  ? 
Ministers  are  far  more  stationary  now  than  they  were  at 
first.  And  may  it  not  with  truth  be  said  of  some,  they 
are  far  less  laborious  too  ?  There  are  ministers  of  the 
gospel  or  men  who  call  themselves  such,  who  do  not 
preach  perhaps  more  than  five,  ten,  fifteen  or  twenty 
sermons  in  a  year.  =***=*  In  some  instances,  we  see 
two  or  more  able  bodied  ministers  in  one  pulpit — three, 


GORDON    HALL.  189 

four  or  five   in  one  small  town,*  and  ten,  twenty,  forty  or 
sixty  in  one  city,  while  w^iole  empires  are  left,  from  cen- 

*  This  subject,  it  is  believed,  has  not  received  that  attention 
either  by  churches  or  ministers,  which  its  importance  demands. 
Instances  are  numerous,  in  this  land,  in  which  churches,  that  now 
employ  the  entire  labors  of  a  minister  might,  by  travelling  two  or 
three  miles,  have  ample  accommodations  for  hearing  the  gospel 
preached  in  its  purity.  By  submitting  to  this  trifling  inconven- 
ience their  minister  might  be  spared  to  go  to  the  destitute,  and 
the  money  which  supports  him,  given  to  the  missionary  cause. 

In  some  towns  in  New  England  are  to  be  found  two  and 
three  evangelical  churches,  engrossing  the  service  of  as  many 
ministers,  when,  if  they  would  banish  all  personal  and  loc^ 
prejudices,  they  might  with  comparative  convenience  meet  to- 
gether, and  by  so  doing,  they  would  not  only  have  the  satisfac- 
tion of  furnishing  the  more  destitute  with  the  means  of  salva- 
tion, but  would  be  much  more  likely  to  receive  the  blessing  of 
God  upon  themselves  and  their  families. 

It  is  very  common  in  almost  every  section  of  our  country, 
to  see  two  and  three  evangelical  churches,  of  different  denomin- 
ations, in  the  same  town,  each  striving  to  build  up  its  own  sect, 
comparatively  regardless  of  the  source,  whence  the  materials  are 
derived.  While  at  the  same  time,  each  is  ready  to  acknowledge 
that  the  essential  doctrines  of  the  gospel  are  preached  by  the 
others.  Why  cannot  Christians  in  such  circumstances  have 
magnanimity,  benevolence  and  self-denial  enough,  to  lay  aside 
their  sectarian  partialities,  and  worship  together,  and  in  this  way 
enjoy  the  high  satisfaction,  of  enlightening  and  saving  multi- 
tudes, who  otherwise  would  perish  in  ignorance  and  sin  ?  O 
must  not  this  afford  more  rational  enjoyment  to  a  truly  benevo- 
lent heart,  than  the  highest  success  of  sectarian  efforts  ? 

These  remarks  are  not  made  in  reference  to  those  churches  . 
that  have  separated  themselves  and  come  out  from  dangerous  er- 
ror, and  have  nobly  made  a  stand  in  defence  of  the  faith  once  de- 
livered to  the  saints,  but  in  reference  to  those  cases,  where  by 
common  consent,  the  essential  doctrines  of  the  gospel  are 
preached. — If  all  evangelical  churches  of  different  denomina- 
tions would  act  on  this  truly  liberal  principle,  how  greatly  would 
it  facihtate  the  conversion  of  the  world  ! 


190  MEMOIR   OF 

tury  to  century,  wholly  destitute ;  yes,  while  three  fourths 
of  the  entire  population  of  the  globe  are  left,  from  gen- 
eration to  generation  to  sink  into  death,  without  even  one 
herald  of  salvation  ! — Do  these  facts  bespeak  a  conform- 
ity to  our  Savior's  precepts,  which  say,  "  Freely  ye  have 
received,  freely  give — thou  shall  love  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self— whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto  you, 
do  ye  even  so  to  them  ?" 

Do  the  thousands  of  Protestant  ministers  who  are  so 
thickly  settled  among  the  churches,  feel  sure  that  they 
are  travelling  as  much,  and  preaching  as  many  sermons 
and  to  as  many  different  assemblies  as  they  ought  ?  Do 
they  feel  sure  that  their  labors  are  so  appropriated  or  so 
distributed  among  the  great  family  of  mankind,  as  our 
Lord  and  Master  would  have  them  ? 

In  the  first  age  of  Christianity,  there  was  a  great  de- 
ficiency of  regular  pastors.  That  deficiency  was,  in  a 
great  measure,  supplied  by  the  labors  of  private  Chris- 
tians, co-operating  with  the  pastors  in  the  ministerial  work. 
At  the  present  day,  ought  not  many  lay  members  of  the 
churches  to  take  amore  active  and  public  part  than  they 
do,  in  the  great  work  of  furthering  the  knowledge  and  in- 
fluence of  the  gospel,  not  only  at  home  but  abroad  ?  Is 
it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  wherever  an  emergency 
exists,  similar  to  that  in  the  apostolic  age,  through  a  des- 
titution of  regular  pastors,  every  private  Christian,  sO  far 
as  capable,  would  be  bound  to  supply  that  destitution  ? — 
So  thought  the  Christians  who  were  dispersed  by  the  per- 
secution (Acts  1  :  8,) — "  they  went  every  where  preach- 
ing the  word." 

The  demand  for  preachers  of  the  word,  at  the  pres- 


GORDON    HALL.  191 

ent  day  is  certainly  as  great,  throughout  the  heathen 
world,  as  ever  it  was  in  the  Roman  empire ;  and  in  many 
parts  of  Christendom  it  is  hardly  less  urgent.  While 
this  is  the  fact,  how  many  pious  laymen  are  there  in  the 
churches,  whose  minds  are  well  stored  with  literary  and 
theological  knowledge,  and  therefore  as  well  qualified 
for  preaching  the  gospel,  as  were  those  private  Christians, 
who  co-operated  with  the  apostles  and  primitive  pastors 
in  the  great  work  of  spreading  the  gospel  ? 

Very  many  of  these  private  Christians,  by  turning 
their  attention  to  the  ministerial  work  and  exercising  their 
gifts  in  it,  would,  with  the  great  facilities  which  now  ex- 
ist, and  the  improvements  they  have  already  made,  soon 
become  respectable  in  their  literary  and  theological  at- 
tainments, and  promise  to  be  useful  and  worthy  helpers 
in  the  great  field  of  labor.  The  arguments  in  favor  of 
this  measure  are  unspeakably  weighty,  and  demand  the 
most  serious  and  prayerful  attention  of  the  churches  and 
of  individuals.  The  object  is  no  less  than  the  eternal 
salvation  of  destitute  millions,  who  are  rapidly  passing  un- 
prepared, into  eternity. 

What  is  here  said  is  not  designed,  in  the  least  degree, 
to  derogate  from  the  expediency  or  the  importance  of  a 
regularly  educated  and  learned  clergy,  nor  from  the  value 
of  those  benevolent  measures  now  in  operation  for  the 
increase  and  perpetuity  of  such  a  clergy.  The  result  of 
all  these  invaluable  measures  must  be  gradual  and  some- 
what distant  and  greatly  inadequate.  It  cannot  reach 
the  present  exigencies  of  the  case.  Something  more  im- 
mediate and  more  comprehensive  must  be  done,  or  mil- 
lions of  our  fellow-men  must  die  in  sin,  and  all  our  fond 


192  MEMOIR    OF 

hopes  of  the  conversion  of  the  world,  must  be  greatly  pro- 
tracted, if  not  abandoned.  Can  the  churches  behold  it 
and  not  be  moved  ? 

Let  the  minds  of  the  Christian  community  be  awake 
to  their  duty  to  the  heathen,  and  expedients  will  be  sug- 
gested and  carried  into  effect.  What  a  field  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  wisdom  and  benevolent  invention  ! And  why, 

we  may  well  exclaim  with  astonishment,  why  has  this  sub- 
ject been  so  much  neglected,  and  for  so  long  a  time ! 
What  hosts  of  doctors  of  divinity,  prelates  and  other  cler- 
ical controversialists  have  exerted  all  their  energies  in  ex- 
ploring and  debating  such  subjects  as  Pascha  and  Tran- 
suhstantia,  Episcopacy    and  Baptism,   Conformity    and 

Non-conformity, while  alas  !  how  few,  how  very  few 

have  with  equal  zeal  and  effort  expended  and  enforced 
the  last  command^of  the  w^orld's  Redeemer,  "  go  ye  into 

ALL  THE  WORLD  AND  PREACH  THE  GOSPEL  TO  EVERY 

CREATURE — He  that  believeth  and  is  baptised  shall  be 
saved,  but  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned,^^ — words 
which  contain  the  grand  charter  of  salvation  to  all  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth  :  — What  numerous  and  massy  volumes 
have  been  devoted  to  the  former  and  what  meagre  scrips 
to  the  latter  1  Will  not  this  strange  fact  rise  up  in  judge- 
ment at  a  future  day,  to  the  shame  and  confusion  of  those 
who  could  speak  and  write  well  on  this  long  neglected  sub- 
ject, but  who  have  chosen  very  different  themes  for  the 
display  of  their  powers  ?  O  is  it  not  time  for  the  cham- 
pions of  Israel  to  stand  forth  and  wipe  away  the  foul  re- 
proach ! 

About  six  years  ago,  I  was  jointly  engaged  in  writing 
a  little  tract  entitled  The  conversion  of  the  world.    From 


GORDON    HALL.  193 

that  time  to  this,  I  have  been  endeavoring  daily  to  do  the 
work  of  an  evangeHst  among  the  heathen.  Standing  as 
I  do  on  the  borders  of  an  immense  division  of  the  earth, 
crowded  with  great  multitudes  of  immortal  beings,  wan- 
dering in  the  ways  of  sin  and  death,  being  wholly  igno- 
rant of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  the  inquiry  is  constantly  im- 
pressed upon  my  mind — Can  no  more  be  done  for  their 
salvation  1  Every  succeeding  reflection  upon  the  sub- 
ject does  but  deepen  the  conviction,  that  more,  much 
more  can  and  therefore  ought  immediately  to  he  done. 

Under  these  impressions  the  preceding  remarks  have 
been  made,  with  the  hope  that  they  may  be  rendered, 
in  some  degree,  subservient  to  the  increase  of  mission- 
ary exertions  and  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom  among  men. 

If  any  thing  disrespectful,  intemperate  or  unwarrant- 
able has  been  advanced,  it  is  hoped  it  will  be  charitably 
imputed  to  an  ignorant  or  misguided  mind,  and  that 
every  reasonable  allowance  will  be  made.  If  there  be  a 
man  in  the  world,  who  can  claim  a  charitable  indulgence 
in  such  a  case,  surely,  it  is  the  missionary,  who  is  almost, 
and  in  some  cases  entirely  shut  out  from  literary,  relig- 
ious and  civilized  society ;  and  is  consequently  deprived 
of  the  ordinary  means  of  chastening  his  ideas,  maturing 
his  judgment  and  improving  his  address. 

Dearly  beloved  brethren,  whatever  we  do  in  this 
great  work  must  be  done  quickly  ; — take  heed  to  your- 
selves, and  work  while  the  day  lasts; — Whatsoever 
your  hands  find  to  do,  do  it  with  your  might.  Blessed 
is  that  servant,  whom  his  Lord,  when  he  cometh,  shall 
find  so  doing." 

17 


CHAPTER  IX. 


CONTAINING    VARIOUS  COMMUNICATIONS  FROM  JULY   1,   1821, 
TO  JANUARY  15,   1825. 


To  the  Secretary  of  the  A.  B.   C.  F.  M. 

''Bombay,  July  1,  1821. 
•The  sickness  and  departure  of  brother  Bard- 


well,  was  to  us  all  a  deep  affliction.  This  providence 
made  a  dismal  blank  in  our  circle.  But  O,  Sir,  what 
shall  we  now  say  ?  Our  dear  brother  Newell  is  no  more  ! 
On  May  30th,  at  one  o'clock,  A.  M.,  he  breathed  out  his 
soul,  we  trust,  in  the  arms  of  his  Savior.  His  disease 
was  the  spasmodic  cholera,  which  has  raged  awfully  in 
this  region,  for  some  time  past.  On  Monday  evening  Mr. 
Newell  was  somewhat  indisposed,  and  his  rest  was  disturb- 
ed that  night.  He  was  worse  Tuesday  morning,  but  it 
was  not  till  9  or  10  o'clock,  that  there  was  any  appre- 
hension it  was  the  cholera.  Dr.  T.  and  other  friends 
were  called  in.  At  that  time,  the  disease  had  made  so 
much  progress,  that  no  medical  treatment  could  avail. 
The  victory  of  the  disease  was  so  rapid  and  so  complete, 


GORDON    HALL.  195 

that  his  last  hours  were  quiet,  and  he  sunk  into  the  arms 
of  death  without  a  struggle  or  a  groan. 

Brother  Newell's  remains  were  deposited  in  the  Eng- 
lish burying  ground,  on  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday. 
In  his  last  sickness,  his  head  was  early  affected.  He 
made  but  a  single  remark,  by  which  it  appears,  that  he 
knew  what  his  disease  was.  A  stupor  had  so  siezed  him, 
it  was  with  difficulty  he  could  be  persuaded  to  take  the 
prescribed  remedy.  When  asked  by  his  afflicted  wife, 
if  he  could  not  bid  her  farewell,  he  answered  by  shaking 
his  head,  and  affectionately  pressing  her  hand.  Mr.  New- 
ell generally  enjoyed  good  health.  He  was  perhaps  af- 
fected as  little  by  the  climate  as  any  of  our  number. — 
Just  a  week  before  his  death,  he  spent  five  days  with  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Nichols  at  Tannah  with  more  than  usual  health 
and  cheerfulness.  He  there  visited  a  great  number  of 
the  sick  and  dying,  and  possibly  might  have  taken  the  in- 
fection." 

Mr.  Newell,  say  the  Prudential  Committee  in  their 
Report  of  1822,  was  one  of  the  four  young  men,  who 
first  offered  their  services  as  missionaries  from  our  coun- 
try to  any  remote  part  of  the  heathen  world.  Imme- 
diately after  the  institution  of  the  Board,  he  was  taken  un- 
der its  patronage  ;  and  having  finished  his  course  of  theo- 
logical studies  at  Andover,  and  attended  medical  lectures 
at  Philadelphia,  he  sailed  with  the  first  missionaries  for 
India  in  February,  1812.  During  the  embarrassments  at 
Calcutta,  and  the  severe  personal  affliction  occasioned  by 
the  removal  of  his  beloved  wife,  and  his  subsequent  pil- 
grimage, till  he  found  a  field  of  labor  at  Bombay,  his  at- 


196  MEMOIR  OF 

tachment  to  the  missionary  cause  remained  firm,  and  his 
confidence  in  God  unshaken. 

As  a  missionary,  Mr.  Newell  was  distinguished  by 
great  tenderness  of  feehng,  uncommon  modesty,  and  a 
low  estimate  of  himself  and  of  his  attainments.  He  was 
however  a  good  scholar,  and  a  man  of  fine  literary  taste. 
The  awful  condition  of  the  heathen  greatly  oppressed 
him,  and  a  view  of  the  magnitude  and  responsibility  of 
the  work  in  which  he  was  employed,  weighed  heavily  up- 
on him.  Though  generally  enjoying  comfortable  health, 
he  had  many  presentiments,  as  his  letters  testify,  that  he 
should  continue  but  a  little  while,  in  his  allotted  station. 
But  whatever  might  be  the  divine  will  concerning  himself 
and  the  termination  of  his  labors,  he  earnestly  desired  the 
perpetuity  of  the  mission,  the  triumphs  of  divine  truth 
and  the  exaltation  of  the  Redeemer. 

Lapsed  Catholics. 

"  A  few  generations  ago,  the  Portuguese,  by  means 
not  at  all  to  be  commended,  induced  a  great  number  of 
the  Hindoo  inhabitants  of  Bombay,  Salsette  and  the  ad- 
joining coast,  to  come  under  nominal  subjection  to  the 
Romish  church.  About  four  years  ago,  when  they  were 
visited  with  the  cholera,  in  imitation  of  their  heathen 
neighbors,  they  set  up  the  worship  of  devils,  in  order  to 
avert  the  calamity.  For  this  their  priest  required  pen- 
ance and  heavy  fines.  The  people  refused  to  comply 
with  either.  Under  the  management  of  artful  and  influ- 
ential leaders,  a  whole  village  on  the  island  of  Salsette, 
amounting  to  more  than  4,000  people,  went  off  from  the 


GORDON    HALL.  197 

Romish  communion.     Several  other   villages  have  more 
recently  followed  their  example. 

When  the  cholera  made  its  appearance  in  this  region 
about  four  months  ago,  it  first  lighted  on  this  people.  In 
a  few  days  120  persons  died.  The  heart-sickening 
scenes,  which  were  exhibited,  during  that  season,  were 
unparalleled.  The  sick  and  the  dying  were  brought  into 
the  presence  of  the  village  god,  and  there  dreadfully  beat- 
en with  rods,  under  the  impression  that  the  demon,  that 
is  the  disease,  would  be  driven  from  them,  while  men 
and  women,  in  the  midst  of  the  great  assembly,  were 
seen  dancing  in  the  most  wild  and  furious  manner,  shak- 
ing and  falling  into  trances,  pretending  to  receive  the  god 
into  themselves,  and  then  promising  health  and  safety  to 
all  who  would  implicitly  trust  in  them  and  pay  well  for 
the  benefit.  It  seemed  impossible  to  avoid  the  impres- 
sion, that  they  were  given  up  ''  to  believe  a  lie,  that  they 
might  be  damned."  Lamentation  and  woe  have  been  in 
their  dwellings,  but  they  have  not  turned  unto  the  Lord. 

About  six  months  ago,  Mr.  Nichols  took  a  little  Mah- 
ratta  girl  into  his  family.  She  was  in  a  starving  condi- 
tion, diseased  and  cast  out  by  the  cniel  people  into  whose 
hands  she  fell,  after  the  death  of  her  parents,  and  was 
charged  with  having  a  devil.  She  is  now  well,  and  we 
cannot  but  hope,  that  she  has  been  saved  from  an  early 
death,  to  live  and  glorify  God." 


17* 


198  MEMOIR    OF 

Extract  from  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  Samuel  Nott,  Jun. 

"  Bombay,  Aug.  15,  1822. 
Dear  Brother  Nott, 

Your  kind  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Newell  and  myself 
reached  me  about  a  year  after  his  death.  It  afforded  me 
much  pleasure,  and  I  thank  you  for  it.  I  rejoice  in  your 
prospect  of  again  being  able  to  preach  Christ  to  our  fel- 
low-sinners. May  the  Lord  strengthen  you  in  body  and 
in  soul,  and  cause  his  work  to  prosper  in  your  hands. 

I  can  animate  your  heart  with  no  cheering  tidings  from 
this  land  of  thick  darkness.  As  I  cannot  in  truth  com- 
municate to  my  dear  Christian  friends  in  America,  what 
they  chiefly  wish  to  hear,  I  feel  great  reluctance  to  writ- 
ing them  at  all ;  and  therefore  my  correspondence  with 
them  has  been  and  still  is  on  the  dechne. 

Though  the  gospel  is  preached  in  this  country  in  such 
a  very  partial  and  limited  manner,  yet  Christians  at  home 
seem  to  be  looking  for  immediate  and  great  effects.  But 
while  the  churches  are  looking  for  the  conversion  of  the 
heathen,  it  may  not  be  amiss  for  them  to  enquire,  wheth- 
er what  they  are  doing  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  ob- 
ject, is  not  so  little,  when  compared  with  what  God  sol- 
emnly requires,  that  it  appears  in  his  sight  like  a  mock 
show  of  obedience,  rather  than  a  serious  attempt  to  evangel- 
ize the  world ; — and  whether  they  may  not  expect  dis- 
appointment rather  than  success  in  their  stinted  exertions  ? 

It  is  a  fact  that  but  little  success  attends  the  gospel,  in 
this  country.  Much  might  be  said  of  the  numerous  causes 
hostile  to  the  progress  of  the  gospel,  but  however  nu- 
merous and  great,  the  sum  total  can  never  amount  to  a 


GORDON    HALL.  199 

discouragement,  or  to  any  good  reason,  why  exertions  to 
surmount  them  should  be  relaxed.  On  the  contrary,  they 
imperiously  call  on  the  churches  to  increase  their  exer- 
tions to  such  an  amount  as  shall  bear  some  reasonable 
proportion  to  the  work  to  be  accomplished. 

In  the  popular  language  of  the  day,  it  is  said,  "  The 
church,  for  the  last  thirty  years,  has  been  waking  from 
her  long  sleep."  A  tremendous  period  to  remain  in  the 
act  of  waking,  and  yet  to  be  no  more  awake.  May  not 
and  ought  not  every  pastor  say  to  his  flock,  and  all  the 
ministers  collectively  to  the  church  at  large,  as  the  af- 
frighted mariners  said  to  Jonah,  when  charged  from  God 
with  a  message  of  life  and  death  to  a  great  city,  sleeping 
in  neglect  of  that  charge,  "  What  meanest  thou,  O  sleep- 
er !" 

If  we  are  not  to  look  for  the  conversion  of  the  w^orld, 
except  through  God's  blessing  upon  the  appointed  and 
proportionate  means,  faithfully  used  for  evangelizing  all 
nations,  then  it  is  clear  to  a  demonstration,  that  the 
churches  must  awake  to  some  better  purpose — they  must 
adopt  different  principles  of  missionary  action — they  must 
pursue  vastly  more  enlarged  and  adequate  schemes  of  op- 
eration, or  we  must  abandon  the  soul-supporting  hope  of 
jhe  world's  being  converted  to  Christ.  I  w^ould  not  un- 
dervalue the  Christian  exertions  of  the  present  day,  or 
cease  to  praise  God  for  them.  But  when  I  contemplate 
the  moral  state  of  the  world  and  survey  the  vast  amount 
of  w^hat  is  to  be  done  in  comparison  with  the  very  little 
that  is  actually  accomplished,  the  latter  seems  to  be  noth- 
ing or  next  to  nothing ;  and  I  am  constrained  to  turn 
away  from  the  present,  feeble  exertions  of  the  churches, 


200  MEMOIR    OF 

and  stay  my  sinking  hope,  of  the  world's  conversion,  on 
the  unfaihng  promises  of  God.  Beheving  as  we  must, 
that  this  whole  world  is  to  be  converted  to  Christ,  and 
that  too  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  preached  gos- 
pel, surely  every  friend  of  God  and  man,  who  has  the 
least  influence,  is  most  solemnly  bound  to  employ  that 
influence  to  its  utmost  extent,  in  endeavoring  to  stimulate 
the  churches  to  adequate  exertions  for  the  salvation  of  all 
nations.  God  grant  that  we  may  soon  see  much  greater 
things  than  we  have  yet  seen,  for  the  salvation  of  the 
world !" 

Extract  from  a  letter  to  his  parents  and  family. 
"  Bombay,  Oct.  27,  1822. 
-I  am  always  on  the  look  out  to  see  if  I  can 


find  on  the  monthly  list  of  contributions,  for  the  mission- 
ary object,  as  published  in  the  Herald,  any  tiling  put 

down  to  the  credit  of  T. How  can  you  receive  so 

much  wealth  from  the  Lord,  and  give  back  to  him  so  lit- 
tle for  the  promotion  of  that  cause,  for  v/hich  he  died. — 
Let  me  entreat  each  one  of  you,  not  excepting  my  dear 
little  nephews  and  nieces,  to  give  something,  as  often  at 
least,  as  the  first  Monday  of  every  month,  a  day  on  which 
so  many  thousands  of  Christ's  disciples,  unite  their  hearts 
in  prayer  for  the  conversion  of  the  world. 

Mrs.  Hall's  little  pupils,  born  in  this  country,  on  read- 
ing the  Report  of  the  American  Board,  of  their  own  ac- 
cord, proposed  to  Mrs.  H.  to  make  a  monthly  contribution 
to  the  Board,  and  have  made  their  first  payment.  Even 
a  Hindoo  female,  though  very  poor,  offered  to  give  six 
pice  (about  six  cents)  monthly. — Will  not  the  dear  little 


GORDON    HALL.  201 

children  in  your  families  and  in  America,  enjoying  all 
the  blessings  of  a  most  favored  country,  give  to  this  ob- 
ject ?  1  will  not  beg  for  myself,  but  1  will  earnestly  beg 
for  God — for  the  conversion  and  salvation  of  the  heathen. 
I  would  on  my  knees,  beg  of  every  man  and  woman  and 
child,  in  my  native  town,  and  throughout  my  native 
country,  to  lend  of  their  money  unto  the  Lord,  that  the  glad 
tidings  of  salvation  may  be  carried  to  the  ends  of  the  earth 
— that  all  the  nations  which  God  has  made  may  come  and 
worship  before  him.  Blessed  is  every  one,  who  aids 
this  cause  of  the  Redeemer,  and  he  who  aids  it  most 
willingly  and  most  vigorously  is  the  most  blessed.  But 
woe  to  those  who  withhold  their  hearts  from  this  glorious 
work." 

Extract  of  a  letter  to  his  mother,  sisters  and  brother. 

"  Bombay,  Feb.  14,  1822. 
Your  letters  brought  us  the   afflicting  tidings 


of  the  death  of  my  beloved  father.  Though  he  had  been 
an  inhabitant  of  eternity  more  than  a  year  when  the  news 
of  his  death  reached  me,  and  though  I  had  been  separa- 
ted from  him  for  so  long  a  period,  yet  I  felt  the  stroke  to 
be  grievous.  Though  I  had  not  the  melancholy  satis- 
faction of  mingling  my  tears  with  yours  around  his  dying 
bed,  or  of  dropping  them  with  yours  upon  the  dust  of  his 
grave,  yet  they  flowed,  in  India*  long  after  yours  were 
dried  up.  They  were  tears  of  sorrow  mingled  with  joy. 
My  dear  father,  for  whose  salvation  I  have  so  long 
been  anxious,  is  dead  !  The  Lord  hath  done  it,  and  he 
doeth  all  things  well.     Praised  be  his  name  for  preserv- 


20*2  MEMOIR  OF 

ing  him  so  long. — But  above  all  things,  let  us  praise  him 
forever,  for  the  hope  he  has  given  us,  concerning  my 
dear  father.  Was  there  good  reason  to  hope,  that  he 
was  converted  in  his  old  age,  and  died   a  babe  in  Christ  ? 

0  wonderful  love  and  mercy  !  The  thought  of  this,  fills 
my  eyes  with  tears  of  gratitude  and  joy.  May  I  now 
hope  to  meet  my  dear  father  in  heaven  ?  The  prospect 
quite  overcomes  me.  How  can  we  sufficiently  praise  our 
dear  Savior  for  such  mercy  and  grace  ! 

My  beloved  and  widowed  mother,  I  hardly  know  how 
to  address  you.  Probably  two  years  or  more,  from  the 
death  of  my  father  will  have  elapsed,  before  this  reaches 
you,  and  therefore  it  might  be  unseasonable  as  well  as 
unnecessary  for  me  to  attempt  to  offer  you  consolation. 

1  would  rather  attempt  humbly  to  exhort  you,  my  dear 
mother,  to  use  all  diligence  in  your  preparation  to  follow 
my  dear  father  into  eternity.  I  would  advise  you  to  make 
such  arrangements  for  your  temporal  support  during  the 
short  time  you  have  to  live,  as  will  give  you  the  most 
undisturbed  quietude,  and  the  most  favorable  opportunity 
for  the  practice  of  devotion.  Those  of  your  children 
near  you,  would,  I  trust,  deem  it  a  pleasure  to  do  every 
thing  in  their  power,  to  gratify  your  every  wish,  in  this 
respect.  It  would  afford  me  great  pleasure,  were  I 
near  you,  to  do  any  thing  for  your  comfort.  I  can  on- 
ly pray,  that  he  who  has  promised  to  be  the  widow's 
God  and  Judge,  may  be  your  portion.  Allow  me  to  ex- 
hort you  to  seek  him  often  by  prayer. — Be  much  in  the 
practice  of  meditation  and  secret  devotion. — Fix  your 
heart  on  our  dear  Redeemer — keep  him  always  in  your 
mind.     If  at  any  time  you  feel  dejected  and  cast  down, 


GORDON    HALL.  203 

seek  comfort  in  prayer.  Thoroughly  examine  and  try 
your  hope — pray  much  for  the  divine  Spirit  to  teach  as 
well  as  to  comfort  you.  Your  remaining  life  is  short.-^ 
Be  ready,  be  always  ready  for  death." 

The  following  remarks  of  Mr.  Hall  upon  the  style  of 
missionary  communications  to  their  friends  and  patrons, 
are  found  among  his  private  writings ;  under  date  of 
Aug  25,  1824. 

"  Some  of  our  kind  friends  at  home  think  that  we 
should  write  with  more  care,  and  enrich  our  letters  and 
journals  with  contributions  to  the  various  departments  of 
science,  literature  and  the  arts.  Were  I  with  these  good 
friends  (for  I  do  not  doubt  their  being  such)  I  should 
like  to  suggest  to  them  some  such  enquiries  as  the  fol- 
lowing : — 

Have  you  carefully  considered  the  disadvantages 
which,  from  the  time  of  his  embarkation,  the  missionary 
sustains,  from  being  excluded  from  the  society  of  literary 
men,  from  new  literary  publications  and  from  classical  li- 
braries ? 

Have  you  thought  maturely  on  the  arduous  work  of 
acquiring  the  familiar  use  of  a  foreign  language,  which 
should  be  the  object  of  every  missionary,  and  of  acquir- 
ing such  a  knowledge  of  the  religion,  laws,  habits  and 
history  of  the  people  among  whom  he  is  placed,  as  will 
enable  him  to  proceed,  with  discretion  in  his  work  ? 

Have  you  contemplated  the  case  of  the  missionary  af- 
ter he  has  acquired  the  language,  and  considered  the  im- 
perious demands  on  him  to  preach,  converse  and  read  to 


204  MEMOIR    OF 

the  heathen  ; — to  translate  the  Scriptures — to  prepare 
tracts — to  estahhsh  and  superintend  schools,  he.  &c. — 
together  with  the  necessity  of  continuing  his  study  of  the 
original  languages  of  the  Bible,  and  also  the  language  into 
which  he  translates  it — and  how  far  the  almost  exclu- 
sive use  of  a  foreign  language  tends  to  prevent  the  culti- 
vation of  his  own  ? 

Have  your  eyes  traced  the  steps  of  the  missionary,  as 
he  moves  among  the  multitudes  of  ignorant  and  dying 
heathen — have  you  seen  him  so  situated,  that  you  would 
be  willing  he  should  spend  an  hour  in  examining  a  pebble, 
a  shell,  a  plant,  a  bird  or  an  insect,  when  he  could  devote 
that  hour  in  telling  the  polluted  idolater  what  he  must  do 
to  be  saved  ? — Have  you  ever  seen  him  with  an  hour  on 
his  hands,  which  he  might  consume  in  writing  in  his  jour- 
nal a  literary  page,  which  might  not  be  spent  in  translat- 
ing or  revising  a  portion  of  God's  word,  or  in  performing 
some  other  appropriate  missionary  labor  ? 

Now  in  concluding,  let  me  say,  if  you  have  not  well 
considered  these  things,  and  many  others  of  the  same 
general  character,  you  ought,  in  justice,  to  refrain  from 
any  very  severe  animadversions  on  the  style  of  missionary 
communications.  I  would  be  the  last  person  to  counte- 
nance indolence,  or  habits  of  inattention  in  a  missionary, 
but  I  would  have  him  direct  his  attention  to  objects  ac- 
cording to  their  real  and  comparative  importance.  On 
this  principle  the  missionary  will  often  find  himself  con- 
strained to  deny,  rather  than  gratify  his  desires  for  scien- 
tific research  and  classical  improvement." 


GORDON    HALL.  205 


Mr,  HalFs  tour  to  the  Ghauts, 

In  November  1824,  Mr.  Hall  undertook  a  fatiguing 
tour  to  the  high  lands  east  of  Bombay,  on  the  continent, 
for  the  double  purpose,  of  preaching  the  gospel,  and  as- 
certaining, if  a  place  might  not  be  found  on  the  moun- 
tains, as  a  convalescent  station  for  disabled  missionaries 
and  their  famihes,  to  which  they  might  repair  from  time 
to  time,  as  the  state  of  their  health  might  require.  The 
place  he  had  in  view  and  which  he  visited  is  called  Ma- 
ha-buleshwer,  an  elevated  position  on  the  Ghauts,  distant 
from  Bombay  about  140  miles,  a  little  south  of  east. — 
Some  general  remarks  made  after  his  return  will  now  be 
inserted. 

*'  I  had  many  opportunities  of  imparting  Christian 
knowledge,  and  was  much  gratified  to  find  myself  and  our 
printed  books  so  well  understood  by  the  people  on  the 
Ghauts,  and  among  the  mountains  of  the  Koonkan.  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  some  words  familiarly  used  in 
common  conversation,  which  w^e  had  feared  were  above 
the  comprehension  of  the  common  people,  in  the  back 
country. 

Both  at  Parr  Ghaut,  and  at  Maha-buleshwer,  the  wa- 
ter and  the  climate  are  excellent.  I  am  of  the  opin- 
ion, that  Europeans,  with  good  habitations,  would  be  like- 
ly to  live  there,  as  long,  and  enjoy  as  good  health,  as  in 
England  or  America  ;  unless  however  experience  should 
show,  that  these  elevated  mountains,  from  their  attraction 
18 


206  MEMOIR    OF 

of  clouds  and  vapors,  should  be  unfavorable  in  the  rainy 
season. 

There  are  on  the  Ghauts  no  houses  to  be  obtained. 
To  erect  them  would  be  very  expensive,  as  most  of  the 
materials  must  be  brought  from  a  great  distance. — All 
provisions,  except  a  few  coarse  articles,  are  very  scarce, 
and  must  be  brought  20  or  30  miles  ;  and  this  must  con- 
tinue to  be  the  case  with  most  articles,  as  there  is  no  wa- 
ter to  irrigate  the  ground  for  cultivation,  in  the  dry 
season. 

The  number  of  inhabitants  on  and  among  the  moun- 
tains is  small  compared  with  the  population  of  the  country 
generally.  They  are  however  more  numerous,  in  the 
same  extent  of  country,  than  the  people  of  Lapland  and 
many  other  places  where  missionaries  have  gone.  Being 
so  entirely  secluded  from  the  contaminating  influence  of 
European  intercourse,  their  situation  is  much  more  favor- 
able to  the  reception  of  the  gospel,  than  in  many  other 
places. 

While  travelling  over  these  mountains  and  through 
these  sequestered  valleys,  I  could  hardly  forbear  exclaim- 
ing. How  beautiful  upon  these  mountains,  at  some  fliture 
day,  will  be  the  feet  of  those,  who  shall  bring  glad  tidings 
of  salvation  to  these  simple,  ignorant  people,  who  now 
sit  in  darkness  and  in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death  ! 

Though  it  may  seem  a  great  loss  of  labor,  for  a  mis- 
sionary to  leave  the  far  more  populous  districts  of  the 
country,  for  this  comparatively  desolate  region,  yet  in 
those  cases,  where  his  health  may  not  admit  of  his  living 
in  the  heat  and  smoke  and  fog  of  the  Presidency  or  in  the 
Koonkan,  these  mountains  offer  him  a  salubrious^  retreat ; 


GORDON    HALL.  201 

where  the  present  prospect  I  think  is,  that  if  seasonably 
resorted  to,  he  may  Uve  and  enjoy  as  good  health,  as  in 
his  native  climate  ;  and  according  as  his  strength  may  be, 
he  may  continue  to  preach  Christ,  in  the  same  language 
he  has  learned  (Mahratta)  to  a  people  totally  destitute, 
— to  a  people  more  numerous  than  they  are  in  many 
places,  to  which  missionaries  have  been  sent,  and  with 
unquestionable  propriety." 

Letter  to  Robert  Ralston,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia. 
"  Bombay,  Jan.  15,  1825. 
My  very  dear  friend, 

Your  very  kind  letter  of  November,  1823,  and  its  du- 
plicate, reached  me,  the  latter,  three  months,  and  the 
former  three  days  since.  They  have  refreshed  me,  not 
only  by  the  good  things  concerning  Zion  which  they 
communicate,  but  because  they  came  from  a  friend  and 
benefactor  I  so  much  love  and  respect. 

O  my  dear  Sir,  what  do  we  not  owe  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  redeeming  love  and  covenant  grace  !  What 
should  any  of  us  be  without  them — what,  but  useless  and 
loathsome  burdens,  in  the  hands  of  a  long  suffering  Prov- 
idence !  Dwelling  in  the  ashes  of  all  pride  and  self-com- 
placency, well  may  each  servant  of  Christ  adopt  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Apostle,  "  By  the  grace  of  God,  I  am  what 
I  am."  How  much  are  those  to  be  pitied,  who,  in  what 
they  profess  to  do  for  Christ's  sake,  seek  that  honor  which 
Cometh  from  men. — Happy,  happy  indeed  are  those,  who 
being  satisfied  in  their  own  souls,  and  thankful  to  God  for 
the  grace  that  enables  them  to  serve  him  and  benefit  their 
generation,  deserve  the  praise  of  men,  and  yet  are  indif- 


208  MEMOIR    OF 

ferent  whether  they  receive  it  or  not.  May  this  uncom^ 
mon  grace  and  felicity  be  ours,  and  may  they  spread 
and  abound  in  the  churches ;  for  in  proportion  as  they 
prevail,  success  well  attend  the  benevolent  efforts  of  the 
day.  On  the  other  hand,  the  opposite,  such  as  pride, 
self-complacency  and  human  glorying,  have  greatly  con- 
taminated the  brilliant  transactions  of  Christian  benevo- 
lence, for  some  years  past. 

These  blemishes  are  found  attached  to  the  labors  ev- 
en of  obscure  missionaries.  This  spirit  of  vain  glory,  I 
have  often  contemplated  as  standing  prominently  among 
those  sins  which  provoke  God,  so  generally  to  withhold 
his  blessing. 

But  while  I  indulge  in  these  general  remarks,  I  would 
remember  with  shame,  that  none  are  more  deserving  of 
reproach  for  such  sins,  than  myself;  and  I  would  forever 
praise  the  Lord,  for  the  hope  I  have,  that,  through  grace, 
I  am  striving  against  such  indwelling  sins,  and  in  a  peace- 
ful expectation  of  being,  one  day,  more  than  conqueror, 
through  him  who  hath  loved  and  died  for  us. 

We  have  just  received  numerous  communications 
from  our  beloved  and  favored  land ;  surely  God  is  there 
doing  wonders  for  Zion.  I  contemplate  with  peculiar  in- 
terest and  hope  the  extension  of  concerts  for  prayer.  Here 
is  Zion's  strong  hold — O  that  all  would  suitably  avail 
themselves  of  it !  Then  would  the  windows  of  heaven  be 
opened  upon  the  church  and  the  world." 


GORDON    HALL.  209 


To  Rev  Dr.  Porter,  Andover, 

"  Bombay,  Jan.  1825. 
My  very  dear  friend, 

Your  very  gratifying  letter  of  June  last,  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  receiving  on  the  12th  inst.  I  did  not  suspect 
you  of  having  forgotten  me.  But  if  I  had  indulged  even 
so  unworthy  a  suspicion,  I  trust,  it  would  not  have  great- 
ly disturbed  my  tranquilhty.  For  I  have  long  been  en- 
deavoring to  bring  my  mind  in  unison  with  that  precious 
maxim — "  Desire  to  be  remembered  and  applauded,  but 
care  not  whether  you  are  so  or  not." 

Perhaps  few  are  more  pressed  with  labors,  or  better 
furnished  with  apologies  for  seeming  neglects  of  old  friends, 
than  I  am.  I  closed  the  public  and  social  duties  of  this 
blessed  day,  a  Httle  before  ten  o'clock,  this  evening ;  and 
feeling  rather  fatigued,  I  queried  a  moment  whether  I 
should  lay  my  weary  self  at  once  to  sleep,  or  sit  down, 
and  through  my  pen,  commune  a  while  with  my  old  and 
beloved  instructor.  The  latter  you  see  prevailed,  though 
the  opposing  force  was  strong.  I  hope  you  will  not  ac- 
cuse me  of  vain  boasting,  when  for  the  double  purpose  of 
information  and  illustration,  I  say,  that  after  a  short  season 
by  myself  this  morning,  I  visited  four  of  our  Sabbath 
Schools,  before  breakfast,  and  spoke  something  for  God, 
in  each.  Returned  a  quarter  past  eight.  From  that 
time  till  ten,  was  with  my  family,  at  breakfast,  and  by 
myself.  At  ten,  went  to  the  chapel,  spoke  with  various 
people  about  salvation,  and  distributed  books,  till  eleven. 
From  eleven  to  twelve,  employed  in  preaching  and  pray- 
ing in  Mahratta,  from  the  pulpit.  From  twelve  to  three, 
18* 


210  MEMOIR  OF 

employed  in  domestic  worship,  reading  the  Bible,  exposi- 
tion and  prayer. — A  cold  dinner.  At  three,  met  nine 
schools  at  the  chapel — heard  the  three  senior  classes  read 
the  3d  chapter  of  Acts,  and  expounded  the  same.  After 
catechizing  the]whole,  gave  them  an  address,  and  conclud- 
ed with  prayer.  Remained  some  time  in  the  chapel 
conversing  with  different  individuals. —  Returned  to  my 
family  between  five  and  six,  speaking  to  some  persons  by 
the  way  and  giving  tracts.  From  this,  till  half  past  sev- 
en, tea,  he. — then  preached  in  English  to  about  forty 
persons — returned  to  my  house  at  a  quarter  past  nine, 
and  attended  family  worship, — and  am  now  writing  to  you. 
It  is  not  exactly  so  with  me  every  Sabbath,  for  brother 
Frost  takes  his  turn  in  English  preaching.  My  week 
days  are  hardly  less  fraught  with  labors. 

In  many  things,  the  Lord  greatly  prospers  us.  Here 
is  a  very  rare  field  for  benevolent  action,  and  boundless 
facilities  for  diffusing  useful  knowledge  and  promoting  hu- 
man happiness.  As  to  such  general  means,  we  have  al- 
most every  thing  to  encourage  us.  If  we  may  have 
schools,  under  Christian  rules  and  furnished  with  Chris- 
tian books  in  every  neighborhood,  in  and  around  which 
we  may  preach  Christ — and  if  the  people  are  every 
where  wishing  to  have  these  schools  multiplied,  what 
more  can  we  want  ?  Ah,  two  things  more  are  wanted, 
— many  more  helpers  and  much  more  money  to  spread 
this  Christian  knowledge  all  over  the  land,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  render  the  truth  thus  dispensed  effec- 
tual to  salvation.  O  that  these  two  things  may  soon  be 
granted  us.  I  fondly  hope  to  live  to  see  them  both, 
but  would  be  submissive,  though  the  gratification  should 
be  denied  me." 


CHAPTER  X. 

INCLUDING  THE  PERIOD  FROM  JULY  1825,  TO  HIS  DEATH. 


In  July,  1825,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hall  were  called,  in  the 
providence  of  God,  to  a  separation,  which  they  then  hoped 
and  expected  would  be  for  a  year  or  two,  but  which  God 
has  ordered  to  be  final,  so  far  as  this  life  is  concerned. 
This,  though  in  itself  painful,  was  submitted  to,  both  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hall,  with  Christian  cheerfulness,  from  a  con- 
viction that  the  health  and  even  the  life  of  their  two  surviv- 
ing children  required  them  to  be  placed  in  a  foreign  climate. 
The  oldest  child,  then  in  his  fourth  year,  had  been  sick 
for  a  great  part  of  the  time  since  his  birth ; — skilful  phy- 
sicians had  repeatedly  given  it  as  their  opinion,  that  the 
life  of  the  child  could  not  be  preserved  in  that  climate. 
Their  only  other  child,  a  boy  of  two  years,  had  suffered 
a  severe  sickness  of  some  months,  and  there  appeared  but 
little  prospect  of  his  enjoying  health.  If  then  these  young 
and  tender  children  were  sent  from  home,  it  was  obvious- 
ly necessary  that  their  mother  should  accompany  them. 


212  MEMOIR    OF 

It  was  concluded,  therefore,  with  the  approbation  of 
all  the  brethren  of  the  mission,  that  it  was  expedient  for 
Mrs.  Hall  and  her  two  children  to  embark  for  America, 
on  board  the  Brig  Ann,  Captain  Millet,  a  very  favorable 
opportunity,  which  then  presented  itself.  It  was  the 
hope  of  Mr.  Hall,  after  his  family  should  arrive  in  this 
country,  that  some  suitable  place  might  be  procured  for 
the  dear  boys,  where  they  would  experience  parental  care 
and  receive  a  Christian  education,  and  that  Mrs.  Hall 
would  return  to  him  as  speedily  as  possible  and  resume 
her  work  in  the  mission. 

This  was  to  Mr.  Hall  and  his  wife  a  season  of  deep 
solemnity  and  interest.  Here  the  feelings  of  the  parent, 
the  husband  and  the  devoted  missionary  were  put  to  the 
test. — But  the  latter  prevailed.  "  The  day  before  it  was 
concluded  I  should  leave  for  this  country,"  says  Mrs. 
Hall,  "  I  entreated  my  dear  husband  to  accompany  us. 
His  reply,  together  with  the  affectionate  and  solemn  ex- 
pression of  his  countenance,  I  can  never  forget.  "  My  dear 
M.,  do  you  know  what  you  ask  ? — ^I  am  in  good  health — 
I  am  able  to  preach  Christ  to  the  perishing  souls  around 
me. — Do  you  think,  I  should  leave  my  Master's  work  and 
go  with  you  to  America  ? — Go,  then,  with  our  sick  boys 
— I  will  remain  and  pray  for  you  all,  and  here  labor  in 
my  Master's  cause ;  and  let  us  hope  God  will  bless  the 
means  used  to  preserve  the  lives  of  our  dear  children." — 
"  From  that  time,"  says  Mrs.  Hall,  "  I  ceased  asking  hira 
to  accompany  us." 

Being  unable,  for  want  of  time,  to  write  letters  of 
introduction,  in  behalf  of  his  family,  to  each  individual 


GORDON    HALL.  213 

among  his  friends,  in  this  country,  Mr.  Hall  wrote  the 
following,  and  committed  it  to  the  hands  of  his  wife,  at 
her  departure. 

"  Bombay,  July,  1825. 
Christian  friends  in  America, 

With  a  heart  almost  overwhelmed,  but  with  a  peaceful 
trust  that  I  am  doing  the  will  of  God,  I  beg  leave  to  in- 
troduce to  your  fervent  prayers  and  tender  sympathies, 
my  earthly  all,  my  beloved  wife  and  my  two  darling  boys. 
Mrs.  Hall  goes  to  a  land  of  strangers,  to  save,  as  we 
think,  the  lives  of  our  dear  children.  My  heart  goes  with 
these  dear  objects  of  my  affection,  but  I  trust  not  in  such 
a  way  as  to  weaken  my  hands  in  our  great  work  among 
the  heathen.  While  in  imagination,  affection  and  solici- 
tude, I  accompany  them  through  the  dangers  of  the  deep, 
to  the  arms  of  strangers,  in  a  strange  land,  I  hope  still  to 
labor  with  unabated  vigor,  in  this  field,  where  God  has 
placed  me. 

We  have  a  humble,  consoling  confidence,  that  this 
measure  is  entered  upon,  in  the  fear  of  God.  If  my  fam- 
ily is  graciously  preserved  to  reach  America,  it  is  my 
wish,  that  they  proceed  with  all  convenient  despatch  to. 
Tolland,  Mass., — and  that  as  soon  as  may  be,  our  boys 
should  be  placed  in  some  pious,  discreet  family,  where  I 
hope  such  arrangements  for  compensation  may  be  made, 
as  shall  be  satisfactory. 

As  soon  as  the  children  can  be  provided  for,  and  a  fa- 
vorable opportunity  shall  be  presented,  it  is  our  wish  and 
expectation,  that  Mrs.  Hall  should  return,  with  as  little 


214  MEMOIR    OF 

expense  as  may  consist  with  a  proper  regard  to  her  health 
and  safety. 

These  dear  boys,  I  trust,  are  truly  dedicated  to  Christ, 
and  his  church.  Our  highest  wish,  concerning  them  is, 
that  they  may  be  brought  up  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  be- 
come his  children,  and  in  due  time  be  fitted  for,  and  in 
boundless  mercy,  be  admitted  into  the  ministry  of  the  gos- 
pel among  the  heathen,  where  they  were  born.  To 
this  end  let  me  beg  your  fervent  and  unceasing  prayers. 

My  beloved  Christian  friends,  whose  kindness,  my 
dear  wife  and  children  may  experience,  I  would  gladly  write 
to  each  of  you,  but  so  short  is  the  time  allowed  for  mak- 
ing preparation  for  the  voyage,  so  pressed  with  care  and 
borne  down  with  trial,  that  I  am  hardly  able  to  scribble 
this  sheet,  which  I  hope  you  will  accept  instead  of  indi- 
vidual letters. 

Permit  me  again  to  beg  your  prayers  and  sympathies 
for  my  dear  wife  and  children,  whom  T  now  commit  to 
God  and  to  you.  And  O  pray  for  me,  a  poor  worm, 
that  I  may  have  grace  and  strength  to  abound  in  the 
work  of  the  Lord  among  these  heathen,  and  that  here 
the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  may  ever  prosper  in  our  hands." 

Mrs.  Hall  embarked  with  her  children,  July  31, 1825. 
Mr.  Hall  accompanied  them  out  of  the  harbor  and  return- 
ed in  the  pilot-boat.  The  following  are  extracts  from 
his  letter  to  her,  written  at  different  times  during  her  pas- 
sage to  this  country,  and  received  after  her  arrival. 

"  How  different  are  our  circumstances  this  evening, 
from  what  they  were  one  week  ago  ! — I  reached  home  in 


GORDON    HALL.  215 

safety,  though  thoroughly  drenched ;  from  which,  however, 
I  received  no  injury.  The  next  morning  *  it  blew  a  gale,' 
here. — My  concern  for  you  w^as  great. — Every  blast  of 
wind  seemed  to  go  through  my  heart.  I  sought  relief 
in  commending  you  to  the  gracious  care  of  our  heavenly 
Father  ; — in  this,  I  found  my  only  comfort,  and  still  find 
it.  The  Indiaman  that  went  out  with  the  Ann  put  back, 
the  next  morning ;  but  the  Ann  sailed  out  so  finely,  and 
had  so  many  hours  before  the  gale  came  on,  that  she 
was  thought  to  be  out  of  danger,  before  we  reached  the 
light-house.  How  often  have  I  wished  I  could  be  with 
you  and  the  dear  children,  that  I  might  participate  in 
your  joys  and  share  your  sorrows  !  All  I  can  do  for  you 
now,  is  to  implore  the  protecting  care  and  grace  of  God 
in  your  behalf.  Sure  I  am,  it  is  in  my  heart  to  do  this. 
O  what  an  almighty,  gracious  and  faithful  God  we  have 
to  call  upon,  in  the  day  of  trouble !  O  that  we  may 
learn  rightly  to  ask  of  him  every  thing  we  need  for  soul 
and  body,  and  rightly  to  improve  every  mercy  when  be- 
stowed ! 

7th,  Sabbath  evening.  God  has  enabled  me  to  go 
through  the  various  exercises  of  the  day,  with  comfort, 
and  without  any  special  fatigue.  In  this,  he  shows  me 
great  mercy,  and  I  desire  to  be  thankful.  It  is  now 
about  10,  P.  M.  I  will  try  to  pray  for  myself,  for  you, 
and  for  our  darling  boys,  and  then  retire. 

14th.  Sabbath  evening.  My  labors  have  not  been 
less  than  they  were  the  last  Sabbath,  but  I  think  I  have 
enjoyed  them  more.  Last  evening  was  spent  with  three 
Mussulmauns  who  called  on  me,  stayed  and  attended  fami- 
ly worship.     One  was  a  priest,  whom  I  had  not  seen  be^ 


216  MEMOIR    OF 

fore  ;  the  other  two  called  on  me  a  few  evenings  ago. — 
They  professed  to  be  enquiring  after  the  truth.  The 
interview  has  been  uncommonly  interesting.  The  priest  is 
the  most  accomplished  Mussulmaun  I  ever  saw.  We 
had  a  long  and  free  conversation,  in  which  we  drew  a 
comparison  between  Jesus  and  Mohammed.  I  think 
the  priest  felt  in  some  measure  the  force  of  the  compari- 
son in  favor  of  our  blessed  Lord.  1  expect  to  see  them 
again  to-morrow.  O  that  the  Lord  would  show  his  pow- 
er among  these  Hindoos,  Mussulmauns  and  Parsees ! — I 
do  hope  that  when  you  return  to  Bombay,  you  will  see  a 
good  number  of  them  converted  to  Christ. 

To-morroWj  I  expect,  at  the  chapel,  a  visit  from  a 
Syrian  Bishop  and  his  chaplain,  who  are  on  their  way 
from  Antioch,  to  the  Syrian  Christians  near  Cochin. — 
I  have  had  one  interview  with  them,  but  as  the  Bishop 
spoke  only  Arabic,  w^hich  was  imperfectly  interpreted 
to  me  through  two  languages,  viz.  the  Armenian  and  Eng- 
lish, our  communion  was  greatly  embarrassed.  The 
Mulla  Firough  has  engaged  to  be  our  interpreter  to-mor- 
row, and  I  hope  our  interview  will  be  more  interesting 
to  both  parties.  The  Bishop  and  his  priest  have  both 
been  with  our  brother  Fisk  at  Jerusalem,  and  brought  a 
letter  of  introduction  from  him  to  us. — We  fear  they  are 
very  ignorant  of  the  truth. 

Sept.  2.  This  is  our  monthly  fast.  I  have  found 
some  precious  enjoyment  in  reading  the  51st  Ps.,  in  med- 
itation and  prayer.  I  hope,  in  this  respect,  it  is  as  well, 
and  even  much  better  with  you.  When  our  hearts,  my 
dear  M.,  are  in  a  proper  frame,  how  delightful  to  draw 
nigh  unto  God,  and  plead  with  him  for  the  purification  of 


GORDON    HALL.  217 

our  souls,  and  for  his  blessing  upon  each  other  and  upon 
the  world  ? — O  that  we  may  have  more  and  more  of  this 
exquisite  enjoyment.  May  God,  of  his  infinite  mercy 
preserve  you  and  the  dear  boys,  and  train  you  all  up  for 
the  same  celestial  happiness. 

Should  you  be  near  where  there  are  revivals  of  relig- 
ion, as  they  are  called  in  America,  I  greatly  wish  you  to 
visit  such  places,  observe  their  character  and  bring  back 
something  of  their  glowing  spirit,  to  warm  and  animate  the 
cold  and  stupid  heart  of  your  husband.  I  would  give 
much  for  the  privilege  of  being  in  such  places  for  a  few 
days. — I  pray  that  there  may  be  one  in  my  native  town 
while  you  are  there. 

7th.  I  think  our  engagement  to  pray  each  one  of  us 
for  each  one  in  our  mission,  has  had  a  good  influence  on 
my  heart.  To  pray  for  an  individual,  I  find  has  a  strong 
tendency  to  increase  my  love  for  him ;  and  if  I  have  had 
any  hard  feelings  towards  him,  it  is  the  best  way  of  over- 
coming them. 

I  have  had  some  enjoyment  in  commending  you  and 
the  dear  boys  to  the  covenant  love  and  mercy  of  God, 
but  I  have  too  much  deadness  of  heart.  I  hope  the  spir- 
it of  God  may  revive  me  before  I  retire  this  evening. 

I  feel  a  strong  wish  that  you  should  visit  your  friends 
in  England.  It  would  be  a  great  advantage  as  well  as 
comfort  to  you,  especially  if  you  could  be  in  London  in 
the  month  of  May  to  attend  the  annual  meetings  of  the 
various  missionary  societies.  Still  should  you  have  a  fa-^ 
vorable  opportunity  of  returning  to  me  direct,  I  do  not  ^it; 
present  feel  that  either  of  us  should  wish  or  consent  to  ^ 
19 


218  MEMOIR    OF 

course,  which  would  materially  prolong  the  period  of  our 
separation.     The  Lord,  I  trust,  will  direct  you. 

Oct.  20th. Yesterday  our  dear  brother  Frost 

was  buried.  He  died  on  Tuesday  a  little  before  6,  P.  M. 
His  recovery  had  been  entirely  despaired  of  by  his  physi- 
cians, himself  and  all  of  us,  for  about  a  fortnight ;  and  for 
a  week,  his  death  was  hourly  expected.  The  disease 
of  which  he  died  was  the  quick  consumption,  to  which  he 
had  a  manifest  predisposition  in  his  native  climate.  Be- 
fore his  case  became  so  hopeless,  the  doctor  told  me,  that 
his  disease  was  not  at  all  the  result  of  this  climate,  that  it 
was  better  for  him  to  be  here  than  in  America. 

His  sickness  and  death  have  been,  and  I  hope  will 
continue  to  be  profitable  to  us  all.  I  often  wished  you 
had  been  present,  to  share  in  the  benefit.  I  never  before 
w^as  permitted  to  witness,  so  much  of  the  supports  of  re- 
ligion and  the  preciousness  of  a  Savior  to  a  dying  Chris- 
tian. He  had  no  transports  of  joy,  but  a  uniform  com- 
posure, calmness,  peace  and  comfort  of  mind,  in  prospect 
of  death.  He  often  said,  it  was  better  to  depart  and  to 
be  with  Christ,  than  to  stay  here.  As  he  drew  nearer 
death,  this  desire  increased.  Once,  when  he  was  asked, 
w^hy  he  wished  to  depart,  he  said,  "To  be  with  those 

who  serve  God,  in  purity,  day  and  night." A  few 

hours  before  his  death,  I  heard  his  quivering  lips  declare, 
"  Jesus  is  the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life."  He  exhorted 
us  not  to  be  disheartened  at  his  death — he  felt  confident, 
that  God  would  bless  the  mission. — I  could  more  than  fill 
the  sheet  with  the  good  things  he  said.  O  that  you  and  I 
and  our  dear  boys  may  be  prepared  to  die  as  he  did.  God 
grant  it,  for  Christ's  sake  1*******A  situation 


GORDON    HALL.  219 

for  our  dear  boys  (if  spared)  is  daily  a  subject  of  anxious 
thought  with  me,  and  my  earnest  prayer  is  that  God 
would  prepare  all  your  way  before  you,  and  make  ready 
some  pious  family,  who  will  receive  them,  treat  them  kind- 
ly and  teach  them  his  ways ;  and  I  have  a  hope  that  he 
will  do  so.  If  we  can  but  have  a  reasonable  assurance, 
that  they  will  be  kindly  treated,  discreetly  governed  and 
piously  instructed,  it  is  enough.  If  they  should  not  re- 
ceive from  the  family  every  indulgence,  which  they 
would  from  us,  it  would  very  likely  be  for  their  good  rath- 
er than  their  harm.  I  do  not  think  of  any  thing  which  I 
could  say  to  help  you,  that  I  have  not  said  in  former  let- 
ters.— My  heart  often  aches  at  the  trial  you  will  have  at 
parting  with  them.  May  God  give  you  strength  for  it ! 
— Consider  how  much  better  for  our  dear  children  to  be 
for  a  few  years  in  that  country  than  in  this ; — and  how 
much  better,  that  we  should  be  together,  and  how  much 
the  labors  of  both  of  us  are  needed  here,  and  what  a  high 
privilege,  to  labor  for  Christ  among  the  heathen. — Tell 
the  dear  boys  that  "  papa  often  prays  for  them."  *  *  * 
A  missionary  meeting  is  to  be  holden  next  month,  in  this 
place,  to  be  composed  of  one  or  more  delegates  from 
each  of  the  missions,  viz.  the  London,  the  Scottish,  the 
Church  and  the  American  Societies.  We  anticipate 
much  pleasure  and  profit  from  this  meeting." 

"  On  the  3d  of  November,  1825,  the  proposed  meet- 
ing was  holden.  The  missions  represented  at  this  meet- 
ing were  the  following,  having  regard  to  the  order  of  time, 
in  which  they  were  commenced.  The  American  Mission 
at  Bombay,  the  London  Society's  mission  at  Surat,  the 
Church  missionary  Society's  mission  at  Bombay,  the  Lon- 


220  MEMOIR    OF 

don  Society's  mission  at  Belgaum,  and  the  Scottish  mission- 
ary Society's  mission  in  the  southern  Koonkan. 

This  meeting  was  held  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
missionary  Union,  having  for  its  object,  the  furtherance  of 
the  gospel  among  the  heathen.  The  following  rules  and 
principles  of  association  were  adopted,  viz. 

I.  That  an  association  be  now  formed  and  called 
The  Bombay  Missionary  Union. 

II.  That  it  be  understood  that  the  members  of  this 
Union  hold  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  the  Reformation 
without  compromising  any  of  those  tenets,  on  which  they 
may  conscientiously  differ. 

III.  That  the  object  of  this  Union  be  to  promote 
Christian  fellowship,  and  to  consult  on  the  best  means  of 
advancing  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  this  country. 

IV.  That  any  other  Protestant  Mission  may  join 
this  Union. 

V.  That  the  annual  meeting  be  held  at  such  place 
as  may  from  time  to  time  be  agreed  upon,  which  shall 
commence  on  the  first  Monday  of  December,  and  shall 
be  open  to  all  Protestant  missionaries,  ministers,  and  oth- 
ers, who  may  be  disposed  to  promote  its  object. 

VI.  That  at  each  anniversary,  the  minutes  of  the 
preceding  meeting  be  read — two  sermons  preached  re- 
lating to  missionary  concerns — an  account  of  different 
missions,  for  the  past  year  laid  before  the  meeting ;  the 
missions  which  are  to  furnish  preachers  for  the  ensuing 
year  designated,  and  a  suitable  portion  of  time  spent  in 
special  prayer  and  in  religious  and  moral  discussion. 

VIL     That  according  to  the  seniority  of  the  diflferent 


GORDON    HALL.  221 

missions,  a  chairman    and    a  secretary  shall  come    in 
yearly." 

At  the  formation  of  this  missionary  Union  Mr.  Hall  de- 
livered a  sermon  from  Rom.  1:  16th,  For  I  am  not  asham- 
ed of  the  gospel  of  Christ ;  for  it  is  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  heleiveth;  to  the  Jew  first 
and  also  to  the  Greek.  This  sermon  was  printed  by  re- 
quest of  the  Union. 

A  few  extracts  from  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to 
the  reader.  The  general  sentiment  illustrated,  is  this. 
There  are  things  pertaining  to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  of 
which  men  are  prone  to  he  ashamed ;  but  of  which  the  true 
believer,  for  the  best  of  reasons,  is  not  ashamed. 

Among  other  things  specified  by  the  writer,  of 
which  many  are  ashamed  of  the  gospel,  he  observes ; 
"  that  many  are  ashamed  of  the  studies  and  pursuits  of 

the  disciples  of  Christ. But  what  are  the  studies  of 

these  boasting  philosophers  ? — You  see  them  gravely  en- 
gaged in  classifying  stones,  earths,  metals,  shells,  plants, 
insects,  fishes,  birds,  quadrupeds  and  reptiles; — calcula- 
ting densities,  attractions,  repulsions,  affinities,  cohesions, 
gasses  and  fluids ;  and  measuring  the  distances,  magni- 
tudes and  motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  These  are  in- 
deed noble  and  enchanting  studies.  Yet  they  are  all 
cooped  within  the  stinted  limits  of  this  system  of  material 
objects,  fitted  to  our  grosser  senses,  both  of  which  are 
destined  to  an  early  dissolution. 

What  on  the  other  hand  are  the  studies  and  mental 
recreations  of  these  despised  disciples  of  Christ  ?     Some- 
times, as  scholars,  they  study  those  things  which  are  the 
19* 


222  MEMOIR    OF 

boast  of  science  and  philosophy  ;  but  as  disciples  of  Jesus 
— as  children  of  a  spiritual  and  celestial  birth,  they  plant 
their  feet  on  this  material  universe,  and  soar  away  through 
all  the  ranks  of  iatellectual  being — their  heaven-bom 
souls  stretch  off  to  reach  and  fasten  upon  the  great  first 
cause  of  all  created  being — to  explore  that  omnipotent 
will,  on  which  hangs  suspended  all  finite  existence — to 
ascertain  the  moral  relations  in  which  all  creatures  stand 
to  their  Creator,  the  respective  ranks  they  hold  among 
his  magnificent  works,  the  services  they  are  required  to 
perform  and  the  eternal  awards  which  await  them. 

Conscious  that  themselves  belong  to  a  revolted  prov- 
ince of  Jehovah,  and  that  through  the  atoning  blood  of 
his  dear  Son,  there  is  peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to 
men — deliverance  from  sin  and  death  and  hell — restora- 
tion to  the  knowledge,  love  and  enjoyment  of  God,  for 
themselves  and  for  the  whole  world ;  and  through  this 
great  salvation,  there  is  glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  it  is 
the  delight  of  their  benevolent  souls  to  dwell  upon  the 
theme.  Their  desire,  their  study,  their  effort  and  their 
prayer  is  to  co-operate  as  humble  instruments  with  Zion's 
king  in  carrying  into  effect  all  the  eternal  purposes  of  re- 
deeming love,  in  employing  the  best  means  to  confound 
satan,  and  to  bring  forward  the  church  of  the  first-born 
to  that  consummate  perfection  in  which  it  is  to  be  present- 
ed before  the  throne  on  high — triumphantly  surviving  the 
wreck  of  all  this  visible  creation.  In  view  of  this  faint 
outline  of  the  moral  character  and  efforts  of  Christ's  dis- 
ciples, do  they  appear  mean  and  despicable  ?  May  they 
not  rather  look  down  upon  the  boasted  researches  and 
employments  of  the  mere  philosopher,  as  he  would  look 


GORDON    HALL.  923 

down  upon  a  child  playing  with  a  feather  or  snapping  a 
marble  ?" 

At  the  close  of  the  sermon  is  the  following  appropri- 
ate address  to  the  missionary  brethren. 

"  My  beloved  fellow-laborers  in  the  missionary  vine- 
yard, shall  we  not  do  well  to  receive  the  Apostle's  exhor- 
tation. "  Wherefore  I  beseech  you,  be  ye  followers  of 
me."  Did  Paul's  love  to  Christ  and  the  souls  of  men, 
constrain  him  to  labor  in  the  gospel  with  too  much  zeal, 
energy,  perseverance,  self-denial  and  suffering  ?  Was  he 
too  much  like  his  hard  laboring  and  hard  suffering  Sa- 
vior ?  God  forbid  a  thought  so  impious  !  Then  how  do 
we  stand  reproved  by  Paul's  example  !  Have  we  a  li- 
cense for  living  by  a  low^er  standard  than  he  did  ?  Can 
we  show  our  warrant  from  Christ,  for  taking  a  more 
easy  and  self-indulgent  course  ?  From  Christ,  I  say,  for 
if  we  take  our  standard  from  the  mass  of  his  professed  fol- 
lowers, or  from  the  majority  of  those  who  are  called  his 
ministers,  we  have  ample  license  for  self-indulgence,  yea 
for  absolute  conformity  to  the  world,  and  for  indifference 
to  the  immortal  interests  of  mankind.  How  many  would 
feel  as  though  their  reputation  were  forever  blasted,  were 
they  to  preach  as  Paul  did  from  house  to  house,  from  ba- 
zar to  bazar,  from  street  to  street,  from  village  to  village, 
in  prison  and  in  tumults,  with  many  tears,  beseeching  sin- 
ners to  become  reconciled  to  God  ? 

How  many  are  seen  sporting  in  the  various  scenes  of 
amusement,  gaiety  and  dissipation,  when  they  would  be 
ashamed  to  speak  of  Christ  and  his  salvation  ?  Alas, 
alas ! — for  such  abounding  iniquity  among  those  who  are 
called  Christians ! 


224  MEMOIR  OF 

But  my  dear  brethren  are  we  followers  of  Paul  as  he 
\vas  of  Christ  ?  Our  situation  in  this  remote  region  of  the 
earth,  exempts  us  from  many  of  the  temptations,  which 
assail  Christians  in  other  communities.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  have  temptations,  which  are  in  a  great  meas- 
ure peculiar  to  our  vocation. 

Has  not  the  very  name  of  missionary,  which  we  have 
the  honor  to  bear,  procured  us  the  contempt  of  the  scorner  ? 
Nor  have  the  pagans  been  chief  in  this  matter,  but  those 
who  by  profession  are  our  kindred  and  our  brethren. — 
These  have  been  the  first  to  call  us  babblers  and  madmen. 
Have  we  merited  this  by  our  labors  of  love,  zeal  and  en- 
ergy— by  our  meek  and  patient  suffering,  as  Paul  did  ? 
Instead  of  making  us  ashamed  of  our  calling,  has  it  only 
served  to  excite  our  compassion  for  the  souls  that  despise 
us  ?     If  so,  it  has  gone  well  with  us  in  this  matter. 

We  have,  as  we  trust,  affectionately  labored  for  the 
salvation  of  the  heathen. — Sometimes  they  have  heard  us 
with  respect  and  seriousness  :  but  often,  they  have  ren- 
dered us  evil  for  our  good,  and  hatred  for  our  love.  Have 
we  borne  it  with  meekness  and  patience  ;  and  has  it  ser- 
ved only  to  stimulate  us  to  more  fervent  desires,  and  more 
ardent  labors,  and  more  urgent  prayers  for  their  salvation  ? 
When  we  have  walked  about  in  the  heat  and  dust  and 
filth  of  heathen  towns  and  villages,  in  preaching  the  gos- 
pel, and  for  doing  so,  the  finger  of  scorn  has  been  pointed 
at  us,  and  the  tongue  of  scandal  assailed  us,  instead  of  be- 
ing ashamed,  have  we  gloried  in  it,  accounting  ourselves 
unworthy  to  suffer  reproach  for  the  name  of  Christ  ? 

Instead  of  feelings  of  regret  that  we  have  engaged  in 
this  work,  have  we  an  increasing  conviction  of  its  impor- 


GORDON    HALL.  225 

tance ; — do  we  esteem  it  our  highest  privilege  to  pursue 
it,  suffering  the  loss  of  all  things,  and  in  defiance  of  every 
obstacle,  do  we  rejoice  to  do  the  work  of  evangelists  and 
to  make  full  proof  of  our  ministry  among  these  heathen  ? 
We  have  labored  for  years.  The  gospel  has  sound- 
ed forth.  Thousands  have  heard  and  read  it.  But 
alas !  how  few  have  believed  our  report !  And  how 
have  sickness  and  death  cut  down  our  ranks  and  ravaged 
our  camp !  Do  these  things  make  us  ashamed  of  the 
gospel  among  the  heathen  ? — The  arm  of  the  Lord  is  not 
shortened  that  it  cannot  save.  Let  us  therefore  wait  on 
the  Lord  and  renew  our  strength,  assured  that  our  labor 
is  not  in  vain.      We  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not.'^ 

Mrs.  Hall  and  her  youngest  son  arrived  in  Salem 
(Mass.)  November  18th,  in  comfortable  health.  But 
an  all  wise  Providence  saw  fit  to  disappoint  the  fond 
hopes  that  were  cherished,  in  regard  to  the  oldest  son. 
Though  his  health  was  much  improved  during  the  former 
part  of  the  voyage,  he  was  afterwards  taken  suddenly  ill, 
languished  a  few  days  and  died  on  the  25th  October. — 
Afflictive  indeed  must  have  been  the  situation  of  the 
mother  ; — having  cherished  the  strong  hope  of  his  recov- 
ery from  long  illness  in  Bombay,  and  having  almost 
reached  the  country,  the  chmate  of  which,  it  was  expect- 
ed, would  prove  highly  beneficial  to  his  health,  and  where, 
with  his  brother,  he  might  be  educated  and  prepared  for 
usefulness  in  the  v/orld,  she  was  called  suddenly  to  close 
his  eyes  in  death  and  commit  his  body  to  a  watery  grave. 
How  would  the  sympathies  of  the  tender  husband  and 
father  have  been  excited,  could  he  have  known  the  scenes 


226  MEMOIR  OF 

of  this  hour  of  affliction  !  But  it  should  be  mentioned  to 
the  honor  of  Capt.  Millet,  that  nothing  was  wanting  on  his 
part,  which  magnanimity,  kindness  and  sympathy  could 
impart,  to  alleviate  the  wants  and  mitigate  the  sorrows 
of  Mrs.  Hall  in  this  season  of  her  affliction. 

Extract  from  a  letter  to  Jesse  D.  Hawley,  Esq. 

"  January  7,  1826. 
1  now  send  you  a  sermon  of  mine.     The  oc- 


casion that  called  for  it  was  one  of  great  joy  to  me.  What 
a  contrast,  with  the  trials  of  1813 — 14  did  it  present ! — 
Instead  of  being  a  prisoner,  and  under  sentence  of  trans- 
portation from  this  land,  I  found  myself  among  the  repre- 
sentatives of  five  Christian  Missions,  now  carrying  on, 
without  molestation,  their  various  and  extensive  opera- 
tions, in  this  immense  field  ; — where  then,  there  was  not 
a  single  mission  established. 

I  was  the  patriarch  among  the  little  missionary  broth- 
erhood— none  around  me  so  old  in  years  and  missionary  la- 
bors, and  not  one  with  so  many  grey  hairs.  I  was  afFect- 
ingly  admonished,  but  greatly  encouraged. — It  was  a 
delightful  season  to  us  all. 

On  that  occasion,  we  received  four  natives  into  the 
Christian  church, — three  of  whom  were  from  Belgaum, 
where  the  dear  servant  of  God,  Rev.  J.  Taylor  is  mission- 
ary.— One  native  is  now  asking  for  baptism,  but  we  fear 
to  receive  him. 

It  is  now  more  than  five  months  since  my  dear  wife 
and  boys  sailed  for  America. — Our  merciful  Father  has, 
I  hope,  ere  this,  conveyed  them,  in  safety,  to  my  native 


GORDON    HALL.  227 

town.  Were  it  not  for  the  assurance,  that  God  will 
provide,  and  direct  all  things  concerning  them,  in  the 
best  manner,  I  should  be  in  constant  distress  on  their  ac- 
count. I  have  heard  nothing  from  them  since  their  de- 
parture. What  God  is  preparing  for  me  to  hear,  his 
providence  will  in  due  time  reveal." 

From  a  letter  to  Rev.  R.  Harrison,  Jan.  7,  1826. 

*'  That  the  truth  of  God  is  affecting  the  minds  of  this 
people  to  a  considerable  extent,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
I  trust  that  by  and  by  righteousness  and  salvation  will 
spring  up  amidst  this  widely  prevailing  sin  and  death.  I 
never  felt  more  encouragement  or  satisfaction  in  my  work 
than  at  present.  *****  Do  all  you  can  to  induce 
the  church  to  pray  that  God's  precious  truth  may  triumph 
here. — Here  all  things  (unless  it  be  my  own  sluggish 
heart)  seem  ready  for  an  abundant  harvest.  The  spirit 
of  God  only  is  wanting  ;  and  how  sinful  must  be  our  defi- 
ciency in  asking,  since  he  has  declared  himself  more  ready 
to  grant  this  blessing  to  those  who  ask,  than  parents  are, 
to  give  good  gifts  to  their  children.  O  let  us  try  then  to 
be  what  we  ought,  to  be  in  the  duty  of  prayer. 

Since  the  death  of  brother  Frost,  our  missionary  en- 
gagements have  pressed  upon  us  with  uncommon  severi- 
ty ;  and  all  are  suffering  more  or  less,  for  want  of  more 
help.  We  are  looking  with  unusual  desire  for  more  la- 
borers.— A  large  reinforcement  is  greatly  needed  in  this 
field. 

Comparing  the  present  state  of  things  with  what  they 
were  ten  years  ago,  a  missionary  may  now  labor  with  ten- 


228  MEMOIR    OF 

fold  advantage.  Do  all  in  your  power  to  help  us  to 
more  laborers. — Cannot  Tolland  furnish  one  ? — How  it 
would  rejoice  my  heart  to  greet  a  fellow-laborer  in  this 
field,  from  the  place  of  my  nativity,  and  to  have  always 
here  a  representative  from  that  town.  Why  ought  it  not 
to  be  so  ? — See  well  to  it,  dear  brother,  that  in  this  mat- 
ter, nothing  be  lacking  on  your  part." 

It  is  not  known,  for  certainty,  that  Mr.  Hall  had  any 
presentiment  that  his  period  of  labor  was  drawing  to  a 
close ;  but  from  some  cause,  he  seemed  to  gird  himself 
anew  to  the  missionary  work. 

The  following  letter  was  written  by  him  about  the 
first  of  February  1826,  and  printed  at  the  mission  press  in 
Bombay,  in  the  form  of  a  circular,  with  a  view  of  sending 
it  to  Christian  friends  and  acquaintance  in  various  parts  of 
this  country. 

It  is  not  known  that  any  letters  were  received  from 
his  hand  of  a  later  date.  This  came  with  the  mournful 
intelligence  of  his  decease  ;  and  may  justly  be  considered 
as  his  legacy  to  the  Christian  community. 

"  My  Dear  Christian  Friend, 
Ybur  love  to  your  Redeemer,  your  compassion  for  a  lost 
world,  and  your  bowels  of  mercy  for  your  dying,  perish- 
ing fellow-men,  often  move  you  to  call  out,  "  Watchman, 
what  of  the  night  ?"  A  dark,  a  long,  a  gloomy,  a  woeful 
night  has  settled  upon  our  guilty  race.  It  envelopes  alL 
Its  issues  are  too  expanded,  too  tremendous  to  be  com- 
prehended by  finite  intellect.  But,  glory  be  to  God  in 
the  highest  and  forever,  that  the  darkness  of  man's  fall 


GORDON    HALL.  229 

was  rapidly  succeeded  by  the  light  of  his  recovery.  From 
the  hour  the  first  beams  of  that  light  revealed  to  man  the 
redeeming  love  of  God,  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  how  has 
every  succeeding  ray  that  has  fallen  upon  this  dark  earth, 
cheered  the  heart  of  Christian  benevolence,  while  every 
intervening  cloud,  obscuring  the  prospects  of  love  and 
mercy  among  men,  has  tried  and  grieved  the  people  of 
God. 

To  the  far  distant  heralds  of  Zion  our  hearts  often 
seem  to  call,  "  Watchmen,  what  of  the  night  ?"  Some- 
times the  reply  is,  "  Zion  travaileth  and  bringeth  forth 
children ;  the  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for  us,  where- 
of we  are  glad.  The  word  has  been  preached,  prayer 
has  been  made,  the  Spirit  has  been  given,  sinners  have 
been  converted."  We  hear  the  glad  tidings.  Our  hearts 
leap  for  joy.     We  thank  God,  and  take  courage. 

We  turn  again,  and  in  other  directions  ask,  "  Watch- 
men, what  of  the  night  ?"  Their  mourning  hearts  heave 
the  heavy  sigh ;  and  the  bitter  lamentation  breaks  upon 
our  ear;  "The  night  is  prolonged;  the  blackness  of 
darkness  still  gathers  upon  it.  The  people  see  no  light. 
They  continue  sitting  in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death. 
They  stumble  upon  the  dark  mountains.  Their  feet  go 
down  to  death,  their  steps  take  hold  on  hell.  The  Sun 
of  Righteousness  does  not  arise  to  shed  his  vivifying  hght 
upon  them.  The  Lord  delayeth  his  coming  to  save  them. 
The  beautiful  feet  of  those  upon  the  mountains  who  bring 
good  tidings,  who  publish  salvation,  do  not  come  here." 
Heavy  tidings.  Who  will  not  mourn  ?  And  is  such  the 
mournful  condition  of  three 'fourths  of  opr  race  ?  Ah,  it 
is  ;  it  is.  And  do  the  blood  redeemed  followers  of  Jesus, 
^0 


230  MEMOIR    OF 

who  received  his  farewell  charge,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,"  Tcnow 
that  such  is  the  mournful  condition  of  three-fourths  of 
their  kindred  race  ?  Ah,  this  they  know  full  well !  Think 
of  this,  and  weep,  O  my  soul,  and  be  in  bitterness. 
Oh  that  my  head  were  waters  and  my  eyes  a  fountain  of 
tears,  that  I  might  weep  day  and  night  for  my  beloved  fel- 
low creatures,  thus  left  to  grope  in  darkness,  and  perish 
without  hope ;  and  for  the  churches  too,  who  look  on, 
and  behold  this  tremendous  ruin  of  immortal  souls,  sweep- 
ing over  a  long  succession  of  generations,  and  yet  make 
no  more  effort  to  stay  its  awful  progress ! 

Beloved  in  the  Lord,  do  you  from  Zion's  most  favor- 
ed mount,  turn  a  pitying,  waiting,  longing  eye  to  this 
dark  hemisphere,  and  ask,  "  Watchmen,  what  of  the 
night?"  I  am  permitted  to  stand  in  the  place  of  a  watch- 
man ;  but  it  is  on  a  slender,  incipient  outwork,  very  far 
distant  from  the  walls  of  Jerusalem.  O  that  I  may  al- 
ways be  found  vigilant  and  faithful  at  my  post,  and  ready 
to  give  a  true  report. 

I  will  send  you  tidings.  In  some  respects  they  are 
joyous  ;  but  in  others  they  are  grievous.  I  see  much 
around  me  that  is  joyous.  If  I  turn  back  no  farther  than 
to  the  period  of  my  own  arrival  on  this  spot,  and  survey 
but  what  seems  to  be  our  own  neighborhood,  much  that 
is  cheering  greets  the  eye.  Then  from  Cape  Comorin 
through  the  whole  range  of  sea  coast  by  Cochin,  Goa, 
Bombay,  Surat,  Cambay,  Bussora,  Mocha,  and  by  Mo- 
sambique,  including  Madagascar,  Mauritius  and  other  Isl- 
ands, to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  there  was  not  one  Pro- 


GORDON    HALL.  231 

testant  missionary  ;  if  we  expect  a  native  missionary  who 
was,  for  a  short  time,  partially  established  at  Surat. 

But  about  three  months  ago,  delegates  from  five  mis- 
sions met  in  the  Bombay  Mission  Chapel,  and  formed  a 
Missionary  "  Union  to  promote  Christian  fellowship,  and 
to  consult  on  the  best  means  of  advancing  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  in  this  country." 

The  individual  missionary  who  constituted  one  of  these 
missions,  has  since  gone  to  England  not  to  return,  and 
therefore,  for  the  present,  that  mission  is  extinct.  To 
the  other  four,  belong  nine  missionaries,  and  two  Euro- 
pean assistant  missionaries.  These  missions  have  two 
common  printing  establishments,  and  one  lithographic 
press,  consecrated  to  Christ  as  so  many  powerful  engines 
for  scattering  abroad  the  light  of  life.  These  four  mis^ 
sions  have  in  operation  about  sixty  schools,  in  which  are 
more  than  3,000  children,  reading  or  daily  learning  to 
read,  the  word  of  God,  and  receiving  catechetical  instruc- 
tion. The  missionaries,  some  or  all  of  them,  are  every 
day  preaching  Christ  and  him  crucified  to  the  heathen. 
The  Scriptures  and  tracts  are  traveUing  abroad,  and  the 
word  of  God  is  working  its  way  to  immortal  minds  in  eve- 
ry direction.  Prayer  is  made,  and  the  promises  of  Jeho- 
vah are  laid  hold  on  ;  while  the  means  (missionaries  ex- 
cepted) of  doing  a  thousand  times  more  in  similar  v;ays 
for  the  cause  of  Zion  here,  are  ready  at  hand.  These 
are  good  things  ;  and  we  rejoice  in  them.  You  too  will 
rejoice  in  them  ;  and  let  us  all  praise  the  Lord  for  them. 

But  there  is  something  in  the  weakness  of  our  nature, 
or  in  the  deep  subtlety  of  our  adversary,  which,  even 
while  we  contemplate  such  good  things,  and  are  praising 


232  MEMOIR  or 

God  for  them,  is  exceedingly  liable  to  practise  a  mortal 
mischief  upon  uSy  by  so  alluring  and  engrossing  the  mind 
with  the  little  that  is  done  or  doing,  as  to  render  it  seem- 
ingly blind  to  the  almost  all  that  still  remains  to  be  done. 
This  brings  us  to  the  grievous  part  of  the  subject. 

It  is  grievous  to  behold  such  an  extent  of  country 
and  so  teeming  with  immortal  souls,  but  yet  so  destitute 
of  the  messengers  of  life. 

From  Bombay,  we  look  down  the  coast  for  seventy 
miles,  and  we  see  two  missionaries  ;  and  fourteen  miles 
farther  on,  we  see  two  more.  Looking  in  a  more  easter- 
ly direction,  at  the  distance  of  about  three  hundred  miles, 
we  see  one  missionary,  chiefly  occupied,  however,  as  a 
chaplain  among  Europeans.  In  an  eastern  direction,  the 
nearest  missionary  is  about  one  thousand  miles  from  us. 
Looking  a  little  to  the  north  of  east,  at  the  distance  of  thir- 
teen hundred  miles,  we  see  ten  or  twelve  missionaries  in 
little  more  than  as  many  miles  in  length  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ganges.  Turning  thence  northward,  at  nearly  the 
same  distance  from  us,  we  see  three,  four,  or  five  more, 
separated  from  each  other  by  almost  as  many  hundred  in- 
tervening miles.  And  looking  onward  beyond  these  dis- 
tant posts,  in  a  north-east  direction,  through  the  Chinese 
enfpire  and  Tartary,  to  Kamschatka,  and  thence  down 
the  north-western  coast  of  America,  to  the  river  Colum- 
bia, and  thence  across  the  mountains  to  the  Missouri,  the 
first  missionaries  we  see,  in  that  direction,  are  brethren 
Vaill  and  Chapman  among  the  Osages. 

Again  we  look  north,  and,  at  a  distance  of  a  hundred 
and  eighty  miles,  we  see  two  missionaries ;  but  from 
thence  (with  two  or  three  doubtful  exceptions)  through  all 


GORDON    HALL.  233 

the  north  of  x\sia,  to  the  pole,  not  a  single  missionary  is 
to  be  seen.  In  a  north-western  direction,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  there  is  now  one  missionary  between  us  and  St. 
Petersburgh.  Westerly,  the  nearest  is  at  Jerusalem,  or 
Beyroot.  South-west,  the  nearest  is  at  Sierra  Leone  ; 
and  more  to  the  south,  the  nearest  may  be  among  the 
Hottentots,  or  on  Madagascar. 

Can  you  count  the  millions  and  millions  comprised  in 
this  range  ?  Can  any  but  an  adamantine  heart  survey 
them,  and  not  be  grieved  ? 

I  should  like  to  see  a  new  chart  of  the  earth  adjusted 
to  a  double  scale  of  measurement,  one  shewing  the  com- 
parative  surface,  and  the  other  the  comparative  population, 
of  the  different  sections  of  the  earth — all  presenting  a 
black  ground,  except  those  spots  where  the  gospel  is 
preached.  And  on  a  shp  of  white  ground,  I  would  have  a 
note  of  reference  to  Mark  16:  15,  16;  and  this  I  would 
have  bound  up  in  every  Bible,  so  as  to  face  the  same  di- 
vine charge  of  Christ  to  his  disciples.  It  might  be  recom- 
mended to  all  church  members,  deacons,  pastors,  and 
teachers  of  theology,  to  add  to  the  note  on  their  map, 
Romans  10:  14,  15,  and  Isaiah  6:  8,  to  the  last  clause ; 
vvhich  latter  clause  I  would  have  every  student  in  theolo- 
gy, and  young  believer  of  good  talents  and  education, 
print  on  his  chart  in  grand  capitals  ;  preceded  by,  Lord 
tvhat  xvilt  thou  have  me  to  dol 

As  we  must  habitually  set  the  Lord  Jesus  before  us, 
or  not  expect  his  love  will  habitually  constrain  us ;  so 
must  we  habitually  contemplate  a  fallen  world,  lying  in 
the  wicked  one,  or  not  expect  that  our  hearts  will  be  ex- 
ercised with  any  proper  sympathies  for  the  perishino-. 

20* 


•234  MEMOIK   or 

But  I  will  take  a  more  limited  view.  Here  are  the 
Mahrattas.  They  have  been  estimated  at  12,000,000. 
To  preach  the  gospel  to  these  12,000,000  of  heathen, 
there  are  now  six  missionaries,  four  from  the  Scottish 
Missionary  Society,  and  two  from  our  society ;  that  is,  one 
missionary  to  2,000,000  of  souls.  And  to  furnish  these 
12,000,000  with  the  Christian  Scriptures,  and  tracts, 
and  school-books,  there  is  one  small  printing  establish- 
ment. It  is  now  about  twelve  years  since  the  mission 
here  began,  in  some  very  small  degree,  to  communicate 
the  truth  to  some  of  this  great  multitude.  Let  these  facts 
be  well  weighed. 

During  those  twelve  years,  the  facilities  for  imparting 
Christian  knowledge  among  this  people,  or  for  employ- 
ing among  them  the  appointed  means  of  salvation,  have 
so  multiplied  and  improved,  that  I  think  it  moderate  to 
say,  that  a  missionary  arriving  here  now  could,  in  an 
equal  period,  do  ten  times  as  much  for  the  diffusion  of 
Christian  knowledge,  as  could  have  been  done  by  one 
arriving  here  twelve  years  ago.  Then  there  w^as  no 
schools  in  which  to  catechise  and  give  lectures — no  chap- 
el— no  Scriptures  and  tracts  to  disperse.  Now  we  have 
a  chapel — more  than  thirty  school-rooms— and  the  Scrip- 
tures and  tracts  for  distribution— while  hundreds  of  towns 
and  villages,  by  all  the  eloquence  and  pathos  that  the 
most  imperious  want  and  the  direst  necessity  can  inspire, 
are  supplicating  for  more  mission  schools — millions  of 
people,  calling  for  Scriptures,  and  tracts,  and  preaching 
— and  an  untold  number  of  large  towns,  in  population 
like  Boston,  Cambridge,  Andover,  Providence,  Dart- 
mouth, Williamstown,  New-Haven,  Albany,  and  Sche- 
nectady, calling  for  missionary  establishments.     If  some 


GORDON    HALL.  235 

of  these  places    are  not  quite  open  for  the  reception  of 
missionaries,  others    doubtless  are,  and  all,  we  believe, 
will  be  by  and  by;  while  all  are  now  open,  in   various  y 
ways,  for  the  reception  of  Christian  books.  ^ 

Under  such  circumstances,  with  such  facilities,  what 
number  of  Christian  books  might  be  prepared,  printed, 
and  distributed  ;  what  number  of  children  taught  to  read 
the  word  of  God,  and  catechised ;  and  what  number  of 
perishing  sinners  pointed  to  the  Savior's  cross,  in  one 
year,  if  there  were  but  a  supply  of  missionaries  !  Is  it 
not  a  grievous  thing  to  witness  such  facilities  for  mission- 
ary action,  lying  comparatively  neglected  ?  Is  not  here 
a  vast  and  fertile  field  broken  up  and  ready  for  the  casting 
in  of  the  seed  ?  And  is  not  the  seed  already  in  the  field 
waiting  for  the  sowers  to  scatter  it  ?  What  should 
we  say  of  the  farmer,  who  would  turn  away  from 
such  a  field,  and  leave  the  seed  in  the  field  to  perish  un- 
scattered,  and  go  to  some  comparatively  desolate  heath, 
where  much  must  be  done  before  even  that  can  be  pre- 
pared for  the  seed  ? 

Surely  no  one  can  understandingly  answer  the  ques- 
tion "  where  is  it  best  to  send  missionaries  ?"  without  first 
considering  the  comparative  population  of  the  places  in 
question,  and  the  comparative  facilities  for  imparting 
Christian  knowledge  to  that  population.  On  this  score, 
I  plead  that  justice  may  be  shown  to  these  12,000,000 
of  heathen.  Here  I  ground  my  plea.  Let  the  facts 
speak.  Twelve  millions  of  your  race  are  prostrate  at  your 
feet.  You  can  need  no  delineation  of  their  moral  char- 
acter. It  is  enough  to  know  that  they  are  your  brethren, 
but  are  heathen, — that  they  are  idolaters  and  in  igno- 
rance of  their  Maker  and  their  Redeemer  ;  and  that  you 


236  MEMOIR    OF 

can,  if  you  will,  send  them  the   Gospel.     Their  untold 
miseries  supplicate  you  to  open  your  hands,  and  give 
them  that   salvation,  which  your   Redeemer  and   your 
Judge  has  entrusted  to  you  for  them,  and  so  long  ago 
charged  you  to  give  them.  You  see  also  what  are  the  facil- 
ities for  now  giving  them  that  salvation  you  have  so  long 
held  in  trust  for  them,  but  so  long  withheld  from  them. 
What  will  you  do  ?  Will  you  spurn  them  from  your  feet, 
and  command  them  to  let  you  alone,  and  wait,  as  they  are, 
till  the  judgment  day  ?     Is  this  the  love  of  Christ  ?  Is 
this  the  beauty  of  the  Lord  upon  his  holy  Zion  ?    Where 
are  the  hundreds  of  students  in  theology  ?     Where  are 
the  tens  of  hundreds  of  blooming,   pious,  well  educated 
youth,  the  professed  foUow^ers  of  the  Lamb  ?     Is  there 
none  among  you,  who  have  a  love,  a  sympathy,  a  com- 
passion, for  all  these  your  long  neglected,  your  dying, 
your   perishing  fellow-men  ?     O  remember,    there  is   a 
dead    love,  a  dead  sympathy,   a    dead  compassion,  as 
well  as  a  dead  faith  ;  being  without  works.     O,  it  was 
not    a    dead  love,   or  sympathy,   or  compassion,   which 
brought  your  Redeemer  to  the  cross.     That  was  not  idle 
breath  which  he  uttered,  "•  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,"  nor  yet  that  inter- 
ceding appeal  to  the  Father, "  As  thou  hast  sent  me  into 
the  world,  even  so  have  I  also  sent  them  into  the  world." 
O  contemplate  on  the  cross,  your  bleeding  Savior,  tasting 
death  for  every  man,  and  then  survey  the  spiritual  mise- 
ries and  prospects  of  these  millions  of  heathen  souls  dying 
in  ignorance  of  that  only  name,  by  which  it  is  possible 
for  them  to  be  saved  ;  and  then  lay  upon  your  hearts 
your  Redemer's   farewell  charge,  and  when  you  have 


GORDON    HALL.  237 

faithfully  done  this,  judge  of  your  love  and  regard  for  Je- 
sus, and  of  your  compassion  for  immortal  souls,  by  your 
works. 

But  I  ask  again,  must  these  eminent  facilities  for  your 
difilising  among  these  millions  the  knowledge  of  salvation, 
still  remain  neglected  at  such  a  fearful  rate?  Before 
missionaries  can  leave  America,  come  here,  and  acquire 
the  language  so  as  to  be  well  able  to  prepare  Christian 
books,  and  to  preach,  nearly  three  years  must  elapse. — 
But  should  God  send  death  among  us  for  the  next  fifteen 
months,  as  he  has  in  the  past  fifteen,  the  Board  would  not, 
at  the  expiration  of  those  months,  have  a  single  missionary 
on  the  ground.  In  such  a  case,  must  the  chapel  and 
printing  office  be  shut  up,  more  than  thirty  schools  disolv- 
ed,  and  our  other  operations  terminated  ?  Or  into  whose 
hands  shall  all  this  property  and  establishment  be  transfer- 
red ?  Do  not  these  peculiar  circumstances  call  for  pecu- 
liar efifbrts  ? 

I  will  endeavor,  as  God  shall  enable  me,  so  to  labo^ 
here  on  the  spot,  that  the  blood  of  these  souls  shall  not  be 
found  in  my  skirts  ;  and  while  I  cannot  but  witness  a 
generation  of  12,000,000  of  unevangelized  souls,  in  suc- 
cession to  the  hundreds  of  generations  gone  down  before 
them,  dropping  into  eternity,  leaving  prospects  but  little  bet- 
ter for  the  next  generation,  I  will  endeavor,  as  a  watchman 
at  my  post,  faithfully  to  report  what  I  see.  Woe  is  un- 
to me,  if  I  proclaim  not  the  wants  of  this  people,  and  the 
eminent  facflities  made  ready  for  the  supply  of  those 
wants.  This  I  would  wish  to  do  so  plainly  and  so  fully, 
that  if  the  guilt  of  neglecting  their  salvation  must  lodge 
any  where,  I  may  be  able  to  shake  it  from  my  garments  3 


238  MEMOIR  OP 

SO  that  I  may  stand  acquitted  before  my  Judge,  both  as 
to  my  personal  labors  among  them,  and  as  to  my  pleading 
with  you  on  their  behalf. 

The  remarks  I  have  now  made,  are,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, applicable  to  other  parts  of  India.  And  there  is  yet 
another  very  grievous  view  to  be  taken,  which  I  can  but 
barely  mention.  In  little  more  than  a  year  past,  death, 
sickness,  and  other  causes,  have,  so  far  as  I  can  learn, 
laid  aside  nineteen  missionaries  in  India,  while  but  six 
or  eight  have,  in  the  same  time,  come  to  India  ;  and  so 
far  as  I  know  (from  missionary  appearances,  not  from 
God's  promises)  there  is  a  prospect  of  further  diminution, 
rather  than  of  augmentation.  In  view  of  these  things, 
what  will  the  English  and  American  churches  do  ?  Is  it 
not  time  for  every  missionary  in  India,  to  cry  aloud  and 
spare  not?  Would  you  have  your  missionaries  leave 
their  work,  and  come  home,  to  plead,  in  person  before 
you,  the  cause  of  the  heathen  ?  Do  not  tempt  us  to  do 
so.  Some  have  in  Providence,  been  called  home,  espe- 
cially to  England,  and  their  pleas,  in  person,  have  been 
successful  so  far  beyond  what  has  been  otherwise  attempt- 
ed, as  seemingly  to  call  for  the  measure,  though  so  ex- 
pensive, and,  for  the  time,  so  privative  to  the  heathen. 
Why  is  it  so  ?  Why  cannot  facts  be  weighed  ?  Why 
cannot  the  well  known  necessities  and  miseries  of  the 
heathen  speak,  and  plead  and  prevail,  without  the  aid  of 
any  such  disasterous  expedients  ?  Does  this  tell  to  the 
credit  of  those  whom  the  Gospel  makes  wise  to  do  good  ? 
O  think  of  these  things,  every  one  who  has  a  mind  that 
can  think !  O  feel,  every  one  that  has  a  heart  that  can 
feel.     O  ye  redeemed  of  the  Lord,  whom  he  has  made 


GORDON    HALL.  239 

kings  and  priests  unto  God,  "I  beseech  you,  therefore, 
brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  Grod,  that  ye  present  your 
bodies  a  hving  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto  God,  which 
is  your  reasonable  service,"  and  in  the  true  spirit  of  such 
an  unreserved  consecration  of  yourselves  to  your  Redeem- 
er, ask  him,  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?" 
And  let  his  Spirit,  and  his  truth,  and  your  own  con- 
science, give  you  the  answer,  which  shall  guide  you  in  a 
matter  of  such  unparalleled  moment. 

Your  affectionate  fellow-servant  in  the  Lord, 

Gordon  Hall. 
Bombay,  February  1,  1826. 


LINES, 


APPEAL    FOP.    THE    HEATHEN. 

A  VOICE  !  a  voice  !  from  the  land  of  death, 
Uncheer'd  by  the  day-beam,  reviv'd  by  no  breath  ; 
A  voice !  a  voice  !  it  breaks  from  that  gloorn, 
Appealing  to  men  ere  'tis  hiish'd  in  the  tomb. 

A  VOICE  !  it  comes  on  the  pestilent  gale 
From  Juggernaut's  slain  ; — with  the  Suttee's  wail, 
With  the  mother's  shriek,  with  the  innocent  sigh 
Of  babes,  in  their  martyrdom,  mingles  that  cry. 

A  voice  to  the  Church  ! — from  your  slumbers  awake, 
The  maddening  spell  of  cruelty  break  ; 
The  mighty  have  risen  with  buckler  and  sword  ; 
Speedily  send  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  ! 


240  MEMOIR  OF 

A  voice  to  the  Young  Men  ! — hear  ye  that  call  ? 
Do  ye  gird  for  the  battle,  and  fear  ye  to  fall  ? 
By  that  path  to  their  crowns  your  brethren  trod, 
March  ye  where  beckon  the  banners  of  God. 

A  voice  to  the  living  ! — it  comes  from  the  dead, — 

By  the  prayers  they  have  utter'd,  the  tears  they  have  shed, 

By  their  nights  of  sighs  and  days  of  toil, 

To  win  of  the  heathen,  for  Jesus,  a  spoil. — 

By  the  stillness  that  lingers  round  their  graves, 
Where  the  beautiful  palm,  in  verdure,  waves  ; 
By  the  tear  to  their  ashes  the  Convert  hath  given, 
By  the  soul  ofthatsav'd  one — a  gem  of  heaven. — 

It  calls  ye,  invites — demands  ye,  and  know, 
'Tis  peril  to  linger, — Oh,  fear  not  to  go 
Where  dangers  wait,  where  deliverance  is  nigh  ; 
To  death — to  your  songs  and  your  harps  in  the  sky  I 
1826.  W.  B.  Tappan. 


Mr.  Hall  was  much  in  the  habit  of  taking  itinerating 
tours  upon  the  adjoining  continent,  for  the  purpose  of 
preaching  the  gospel  from  village  to  village,  visiting 
schools,  distributing  books,  &ic.  These  tours  were  gen- 
erally attended  with  much  fatigue,  as  it  was  often  neces- 
sary to  walk  a  part  of  the  way,  and  frequently  to  sleep  on 
a  mat  or  blanket  spread  in  some  viranda  or  open  shed. — 
In  these  tours,  it  is  necessary  that  the  missionary  have 
one  or  two  attendants,  to  assist  in  the  conveyance  of  books 
for  distribution  and  to  prepare  food  he.  for  daily  use. — 
The  traveller  in  the  interior  of  India  must  generally  de- 
pend upon  his  own  resources  for  food,  lodging  &c. ;  not 


GORDON    HALL.  ^41 

because  the  Hindoos  are  naturally  inhospitable  in  their 
dispositions.  But  the  principles  of  caste  are  such  as  to 
render  it  very  embarrassing  if  not  impossible  for  them  to 
extend  to  the  traveller,  of  another  religion,  such  accom- 
modations as  he  needs. 

His  Last  Tour, 

Mr.  Hall's  last  tour,  and  the  one  on  which  he  died, 
was  commenced  on  the  2d  of  March,  1826.— His  object 
in  this  tour  was  to  visit  Treembukeshwur,  and  Nasseek, 
two  populous  and  celebrated  places  on  the  continent,— 
distant  from  Bombay  something  more  than  100  miles. 
He  took  with  him  as  attendants  two  Christian  lads,  who 
had  been  for  some  time  in  the  families  of  the  mission  at 
Bombay. 

Mr.  Hall  reached  Treembukeshwur  on  the  11th  of 
March.  He  found  the  people  in  great  consternation  on 
account  of  the  cholera,  that  had  made  its  appearance, 
three  days  before  his  arrival.  In  this  place  he  stayed 
three  or  four  days,  preaching  the  gospel,  administering 
medicine  to  the  sick,  and  distributing  books. 

He  arrived  at  Nasseek  on  the  evening  of  the  15th 
and  commenced  preaching  and  distributing  books.  The 
cholera  was  there  making  dreadful  ravages.  Two  hundred 
or  more  died  on  the  day  after  his  arrival.— He  labored 
among  the  distressed  population  of  Nasseek,  till  he  had 
nearly  exhausted  his  supply  of  books  and  medicine.  On 
the  morning  of  the  18th,  he  left  that  city  and  set  his  face 
towards  Bombay.  On  the  19th  at  10  o'clock,  P.M.  he 
arrived  afDoorlee-D'hapoor,  about  30  miles  on  his  way 
21 


242  MEMOIR    OF 

homeward,  and  put  up  at  a  heathen  temple,  for  the  night. 
He  spread  his  mat  in  the  viranda  of  the  temple  and  lay 
down  to  sleep  ;  but  finding  himself  cold,  he  removed  to 
a  warmer  place ;  which  however  he  found  occupied  by- 
two  sick  men,  one  of  whom  died  soon  after.  Here  he 
staid  but  a  short  time,  for  want  of  accommodations,  and 
then  resumed  his  former  position  in  the  viranda.  About 
4  o'clock,  in  the  morning,  he  called  up  the  lads,  who 
were  with  him,  and  was  making  preparation  for  proceed- 
ing on  his  journey,  when  he  was  suddenly  seized  with  the 
cholera.  The  spasms  were  so  immediate  and  violent, 
that  he  fell  helpless  to  the  ground.  Being  laid  upon  his 
mat,  he  attempted  to  take  the  small  quantity  of  medicine 
which  remained  in  his  possession,  but  it  was  immediately 
rejected.  He  then  told  his  attendants,  that  he  should  not 
recover. 

After  giving  directions  to  the  lads  concerning  his  watch, 
clothes,  &;c.  and  the  manner  in  which  they  should  dispose 
of  his  body,  after  his  decease,  he  assured  them  and  the 
natives  who  stood  around  him,  that  he  should  soon  be 
with  Christ.  He  exhorted  them  to  repent  of  their  sins 
and  forsake  their  idols,  that  they  too  might  go  to  heaven ; 
— he  repeatedly  prayed  with  earnestness  for  his  dear  wife 
and  children,  for  his  missionary  brethren  and  for  the 
heathen  around  him. — With  his  soul  filled  with  pious  con- 
solation, he  three  times  repeated  "  Glory  to  thee,  O 
God," — then  yielded  up  his  spirit. 

The  lads  immediately  addressed  themselves  to  the 
mournful  duty  assigned  them.  With  much  difficulty 
they    succeeded    in   procuring    a   grave. — Having    first 


GORDON    HALL.  243 

shrouded  him  in  his  blanket,  they  laid  him  coffinless  in  his 
humble  bed ! 

Thus  died  and  thus  was  buried  one  of  the  first  mis- 
sionaries of  the  American  Board,  in  the  forty-second  year 
of  his  age,  after  an  illness  only  of  about  eight  hours. — A 
stone  monument  has  been  erected  by  the  mission  to  mark 
the  lonely  spot  of  his  interment,  bearing,  both  in  English 
and  Mahratta,  the  name,  age  and  office  of  their  beloved 
fellow-laborer. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


CHARACTER    OF    MR.  HALL MEMOIR  OF  THE  BOMBAY 

MISSION. 


The  general  character  of  Mr.  Hall,  as  a  missionary, 
is  well  known  to  the  Christian  community,  and  the  mem- 
ory of  no  one  that  has  fallen  in  the  missionary  service,  is 
cherished  with  deeper  interest.  He  was  not  only  one  of 
the  first  missionaries  of  the  American  church  to  the  for- 
eign heathen,  but  there  was  a  combination  of  qualities  in 
his  character,  of  peculiar  excellence,  which  fitted  him,  in 
no  ordinary  degree,  for  the  difficult  and  responsible  sta- 
tion which  Providence  assigned  him. 

The  leading  features  of  his  character  cannot  perhaps, 
be  better  described  than  in  the  graphic  language  of  Dr. 
Porter,  contained  in  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Amer- 
ican Education  Society,  and  published  in  the  Quarterly 
Register  of  May  1830,  entitled  "  Recollections  op 
Gordon  Hall." 

"  As  my  acquaintance  with  this  devoted  servant  of 
Christ  was  short,  being  chiefly  limited  to  one  year,  which  he 


MEMOIR    OF    GORDON    HALL.  245 

spent  in  my  family,  as  a  theological  student,  I  shall  at- 
tempt only  to  give  you  a  very  brief  statement  of  facts 
which  exhibit  the  principles  that  contributed  to  the  form- 
ation of  his  character  as  a  man  and  Christian. 
y  The  developement  of  his  powers,  during  his  theologi- 
'^cal  investigations,  satisfied  me,  that,  in  intellectual  strength 
and  discrimination,  he  was  more  than  a  common  man. 
Of  this,  however,  he  was  apparently  unconscious,  being 
simple  and  unpretending  in  his  manners,  and  altogether 
remote  from  the  sanguine,  self-complacent  temper  often 
manifested  by  young  men,  who  are  greatly  his  inferiors. 
But  it  was  not  so  much  any  one  distinguished  character- 
istic, such  as  we  sometimes  see  in  eccentric  men,  with 
great  excellencies,  counteracted  by  great  defects,  as  it 
was  a  combination  of  good  qualities,  that  made  Mr.  Hall 
what  he  fully  proved  himself  to  be  in  his  subsequent 
course, — a  superior  man. 

Among  this  combination  of  qualities,  is  to  be  reckon- 
ed his  piety ;  which  was  not  a  hectic  flush  of  emotion, 
rising  and  subsiding  occasionally  or  periodically ;  but  a 
steady  glow  of  feeling,  arising  from  a  heart  warm  with 
the  vitality  of  holiness  and  spiritual  health ; — his  perse- 
vering industry,  which  enabled  him  to  master  difficulties 
insurmountable  to  the  vaccillating  and  irresolute  : — his  so- 
briety of  judgment,  which  enabled  him  to  weigh  conse- 
quences, to  adapt  means  to  ends,  and  which  secured  him 
against  rash  resolves,  and  inappropriate  expedients  for 
their  accomplishment ;  and  finally  his  inflexible  decision 
in  purpose  and  execution.  By  this  latter  trait  in  him,  I 
do  not  mean  obstinacy,  that  acts  because  it  will,  without 
reason  perhaps,  or  against  reason ;  but  an  intelligent  fix- 
21* 


246  MEMOIR  OF 

edness  of  purpose,  that  will  not  abandon  a  proper  object, 
on  account  of  trifling  obstacles  to  its  attainment. 

With  the  circumstances  of  Mr.  Hall's  childhood,  I  have 
no  acquaintance,  but  suppose  he  was  trained  up,  amid  the 
plain  fare  of  a  New-England  farmer's  family,  to  habits  of 
hardihood  ;  in  distinction  from  the  sickly  effeminacy  too 
often  produced  in  the  young,  by  the  indulgences  of  wealth 
and  refinement.  Though  his  patrimonial  resources  were 
limited,  his  expenditures  were  carefully  accommodated  to 
his  means,  so  that,  by  economy  and  personal  effort,  he 
managed  to  sustain  himself  through  an  academical  ed- 
ucation. This  was  accomplished,  as  I  suppose,  (for  I 
am  not  fully  certain  of  the  fact,)  without  charitable  aid 
from  any  quarter ;  at  least,  there  were  then  none  of  those 
institutions  which  have  since  arisen,  to  aid  the  strugglings 
of  pious  and  needy  young  men,  preparing  for  the  minis- 
try. 

The  result  of  the  personal  qualities,  and  of  the  cir- 
cumstances to  which  I  have  now  alluded,  was  the  forma- 
tion of  a  character,  which  prepared  Mr.  Hall  for  the 
bold  enterprises  of  Christian  benevolence,  in  which  he  was 
destined  to  bear  so  prominent  a  part.  While  he  was  in 
my  family,  several  incidents  occurred,  which  I  will  men- 
tion, though  of  no  account  in  themselves,  except  as  indi- 
cative of  character. 

At  the  season  of  hay-making,  he  came  to  me  one  day 
with  a  request,  that  I  would  procure  him  a  scythe,  and  al- 
low him  to  go  into  the  field,  with  my  laborers.  As  he  had 
for  some  time  been  withdrawn  from  agricultural  pursuits,  I 
feared  the  consequences,  but  assented  to  the  proposal,  ad- 
monishing him  to  begin  moderately.     From  respect  to 


GORDON    HALL.  247 

my  wishes,  though  he  had  no  apprehension,  he  labored 
but  a  few  hours  the  first  day.  For  the  rest  of  a  fortnight 
he  was  in  the  field  early  and  late,  mowing,  raking,  or 
pitching  hay,  with  as  much  skill,  and  as  little  fatigue,  as 
any  one  of  his  fellow-laborers.  This  was  as  much  a 
matter  of  surprise  to  them,  as  it  was  to  me;  and  it  denot- 
ed a  firmness  of  constitution,  (the  result,  probably  in  a 
great  measure  of  his  early  training,)  which  prepared  him 
for  the  hardships  he  was  to  encounter  as  a  Missionary. 

During  the  same  year,  he  was  appointed  a  Tutor  at 
Williams  College ;  and  the  President's  letter  informing 
him  of  that  appointment,  spread  before  him  very  urgent 
motives  to  accept  it.  Having  read  the  letter,  and  pon- 
dered a  short  time  on  it,  he  came  to  me  for  advice ;  and 
having  heard  what  I  would  say  on  the  subject,  he  made 
his  decision  in  the  negative,  that  evening,  and  there  the 
thing  ended ; — it  was  dismissed  from  his  thoughts,  and 
never  again  adverted  to  by  him  in  conversation.  This 
incident,  trifling  as  it  may  seem,  made  a  strong  impression 
on  me,  at  the  time,  as  indicating  the  promising  structure 
of  his  mind.  I  had  then  seen,  as  I  have  often  seen  since, 
young  men,  who  would  make  of  such  a  question,  a  "  migh- 
ty concern,"  not  to  be  decided  without  many  and  long 
consultations ;  and  who  could  not,  "  in  fixing,  fix"  their 
decisions,  so  but  that  they  were  perplexed  with  frequent 
revision,  if  not  reversal  of  their  own  half-formed  resolves. 

In  the  autumn  of  1809,  if  I  do  not  mistake  in  dates, 
Judge  S of  W ,  Conn,  came  to  my  house  to  en- 
quire for  a  candidate.  Of  the  three  or  four  residents  in 
my  family,  who  had  been  licensed  that  week,  I  thought 
Mr.  Hall  the  fittest  man  fox*  the  place,  on  account  of 


248  MEMOIR   OF 

some  local  peculiarities  there,  and  accordingly  introduced 
him  to  Judge  S .  The  conversation  that  ensued  be- 
tween them  was  ih  my  presence.  Mr.  Hall  was  very  ex- 
plicit in  settling  one  point,  namely,  that  if  the  people  of 
the  place  should  be  ever  so  united,  and  earestly  desirous 
of  his  stay,  his  preaching  to  them  should  not  be  consider- 
ed as  implying  any  obligation  on  him  to  remain  there. — 
The  Judge  wished  him  to  go,  on  his  own  terms,  saying, 
"  If  you  can  unite  a  people,  now  much  divided,  you  will 
do  us  an  unspeakable  service,  even  though  you  afterward 
leave  us."  He  went.  On  the  third  sabbath,  his  morn- 
ing sermon  contained  some  pointed  reprehensions  of  what 
he  thought  amiss  in  the  morals  of  some  in  the  congrega- 
tion ;  and  his  afternoon  sermon  was  on  the  doctrine  of 
"  divine  decrees."  The  following  w^eek  there  was  much 
complaining,  by  some  of  the  people,  of  Mr.  Hall's  "hard 
sayings."  On  the  fourth  and  last  sabbath  of  his  engage- 
ment, his  subject  was  chosen  with  this  state  of  things  in 
his  eye.  Expecting  never  to  see  this  assembly  again,  in 
this  world,  he  expressed  his  regret  that  so  many  should 
have  been  dissatisfied  with  his  ministrations.  He  assur- 
ed them  that  to  have  given  them  offence,  was  a  source 
of  severe  trial  to  his  own  heart ;  but  as  an  ambassador  of 
Christ,  he  must  act  from  higher  motives  than  regard  to 
their  approbation.  With  deep  solemnity  and  pathos,  he 
carried  them  onward  to  the  judgment,  where  he  must 
meet  them  again,  and  where  all  the  motives  of  his  heart 
and  of  theirs,  must  undergo  the  scrutiny  of  the  omniscient 
eye.  The  appeal  was  irresistible.  The  assembly  were 
melted  down  with  strong  emotion,  and  immediately  after 
his  departure,  despatched  a  messenger,  to  insist  that  Mr. 


GORDON    HALL.  249 

Hall,  who  had  gone  to  Massachusetts,  should  return.  He 
did  return,  and  in  spite  of  his  remonstrances,  they  gave 
him  an  urgent  call  to  become  their  pastor.  Then  the 
heart  of  the  Missionary  came  out.  Then  was  revealed 
the  secret,  so  long  cherished  between  himself,  and  his  be- 
loved brother,  Samuel  J.  Mills.  These  kindred  spirits, 
associates  in  College,  often  interchanged  visits  afterwards, 
mutually  enkindling  that  holy  flame  which  nothing  but  the 
hand  of  death  could  extinguish,  in  their  own  bosoms ;  and 
which  has  since  extended  its  sacred  influences  to  so  many 
thousands  of  other  hearts.  The  general  purpose  of  these 
devoted  young  men  was  fixed.  Sometimes  they  had 
talked  of  ^'  cutting  a  path  through  the  moral  wilderness 
of  the  west  to  the  Pacific."  Sometimes  they  thought  of 
South  America  ; — then  of  Africa.  Their  object  was  the 
salvation  of  the  Heathen ;  but  no  specific  shape  was  giv- 
en to  their  plans,  till  the  formation  of  the  American 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  Before  this  period  the 
churches  were  asleep.  Even  ministers  were  but  half 
awake.  To  many  it  seemed  a  visionary  thing  in  Mr. 
Hall,  that  he  should  decline  an  invitation  to  settle,  attend- 
ed with  so  many  attractive  circumstances,  and  so  much 
prospect  of  usefulness.  But  I  can  never  forget  with  what 
a  glistening  eye  and  firm  accent,  this  youthful  pioneer  of 
Foreign  Missions,  full  of  faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  said, 
"  No, — I  must  not  settle  in  any  parish  of  Christendom. 
Others  will  be  left  whose  health  or  pre-engagements  re- 
quire them  to  stay  at  home  ;  but  I  can  sleep  on  the 
ground,  can  endure  hunger  and  hardship ; — God  calls  me 
to  the  Heathen  ; — woe  to  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel 
to  the  heathen.''     He  went,  and  the  day  of  judgment, 


250  MEMOIR    OF 

while  it  tells  the  results  of  his  labors,  will  rebuke  the  apa* 
thy  with  which  others  have  slumbered  over  the  miseries 
of  dying  Pagans." 

No  one  quality  in  the  character  of  Mr.  Hall  was  more 
conspicuous  than  that  of  decision.  This  quality  may 
have  been  somewhat  constitutional,  but  its  chief  strength 
lay  in  the  tone  of  his  piety.  He  feared  God — he  loved 
and  honored  his  Savior — he  sought  to  do  as  well  as  to 
know  his  will. 

Nearly  allied  to  this  decision  of  character,  was  his 
unbending  and  untiring  adherence  to  the  principle  of 
Christian  duty.  The  range  of  this  principle,  in  his 
breast,  was  not  modified  or  bounded  by  the  views  and  ex- 
ample of  his  fellow  Christians,  but  by  the  instructions  of 
God's  word. 

Very  soon  after  his  conversion  and  before  he  left  col- 
lege, he  became  fully  convinced  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  the  heathen.  In  this  his  mind  was 
settled.  He  was  no  more  to  be  shaken  in  this  purpose, 
than  in  his  behef  and  trust  in  Christ.  Hence  he  made 
every  thing  subservient  to  the  accomplishment  of  this 
object. 

The  embarrassments  he  experienced  from  the  gov- 
ernments of  Calcutta  and  Bombay  as  previously  narrated, 
did  not  in  the  least  shake  his  confidence  or  lead  him  to 
doubt  his  being  in  the  path  of  duty.  During  the  greatest 
pressure  of  difficulties,  when  every  ray  of  light  was  shut  out 
from  his  path,  he  was  never  disheartened — he  never,  for 
a  moment,  relinquished  his  purpose  of  preaching  the  gos- 


GORDON    HALL.  251 

pel  to  the  heathen. — ''  Duty  is  ours,  consequences  are 
God's,"  was  his  motto. 

Mr.  Hall  was  eminently  a  man  of  prayer.  It  w^as 
from  the  closet,  he  derived  that  courage,  and  strength 
and  confidence,  which  carried  him  onward  to  success. — 
During  his  correspondence  with  government  and  the  va- 
rious measures  that  were  attempted  to  establish  a  mission 
in  the  country,  much  time  was  spent  in  fasting  and 
prayer.  So  far  as  Mr.  Hall  was  concerned,  says  his  col- 
league, at  that  interesting  crisis,  the  mission  was  carried 
through  by  prayer,  which  is  the  only  just  explanation  of 
the  skill  and  success,  which  were  given  to  inexperience 
and  weakness.  It  is  remarkable  whether  as  a  trait  of 
Mr.  Hah's  character,  or  of  that  aid  that  was  given  at  the 
crisis  for  great  and  important  purposes,  that  in  these  most 
difficult  circumstances,  he  never  faultered,  never  doubted 
his  own  final  decisions,  but  was  enabled  to  go  forward  as 
firmly  as  if  he  were  proceeding  in  the  best  marked  path, 
and  with  the  approbation  of  all  his  advisers. 

He  pursued  this  course  under  the  distinct  conviction 
of  his  understanding,  that  success  was  improbable.  And 
not  only  so,  but  that  this  anticipated  failure  would  cost 
him,  at  least  for  a  time,  the  confidence  and  approbation  of 
his  friends  at  home.  Truly,  it  may  be  said,  that  the 
foundation  of  the  Bombay  mission  was  laid  in  the  expec- 
tation of  defeat  and  dishonor.  How  worthy  of  admira- 
tion and  praise  are  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  divine 
Providence  in  raising  up  such  men  as  Gordon  Hall  and 
his^colleague,  and  placing  them  at  the  post  of  difficulty  and 
struggle, — where,  if  they  had  failed,  it  is  impossible  to 
say  what  a  disastrous  influence  it  might  have  shed  over 


252  MEMOIR    OF 

tbe  infant  spirit  of  foreign  missions,  which  was  then  be- 
ginning to  glow  in  the  American  churches. 

For  the  concluding  remarks  on  the  character  of  Mr. 
Hall,  the  reader  is  indebted  to  a  correspondent  of  the 
New- York  Observer,  of  February  2,  1830.  The  writer, 
after  referring  to  the  fixed  and  uniform  principle  of  Chris- 
tian obedience,  which  dwelt  in  the  bosom  of  Jeremiah 
Evarts,  and  which  enabled  him  to  accomplish  so  much 
in  the  cause  of  Christ,  remarks,  The  same  explanation 
may  be  given  of  the  consistent  and  glowing  labors  of 
Mr.  Hall.  Those  labors  were  performed,  because  they 
came  within  the  range  of  fixed  and  settled  principles — 
within  his  sense  of  responsibility.  He  pursued  his  up- 
ward course  because  he  had  been  enabled  to  make 
straight  paths  for  his  feet ;  yet  not  from  a  mere  sense  of 
duty,  but  with  a  heart,  which  beat  in  unison  with  his  con- 
science. If  his  principles  had  been  unsettled — his  re- 
sponsibility not  ascertained,  he  might  have  pursued  his 
work  abroad  as  fickle  as  the  mass  of  Christians  do  theirs 
at  home ;  he  might  have  turned  aside  from  his  work  as 
they  do  from  theirs.  Thus  he  might  easily  have  em- 
braced the  openings  for  a  settlement  in  this  country, 
when  every  prospect  was  so  doubtful  among  the  distant 
heathen.  At  Calcutta,  he  would  have  yielded  to  the 
British  government  and  taken  free  passage  to  England, 
instead  of  pressing  forward  to  his  work.  At  Bombay,  he 
would  have  embraced  a  similar  opening  in  the  Carmar- 
then, instead  of  his  hazardous  elopement  and  passage 
down  the  Malabar  coast,  and  that  bitter  holding  on, 
which,  at  first,  met  the  disapprobation  of  friends. — He 
would  have  yielded  certainly,  when  he  was  brought  back 


GORDON    HALL.  253 

in  bonds,  instead  of  conceiving  and  framing  that  last  ap- 
peal to  Sir  Evan  Nepean,  which  established  the  mission. 
Thus  it  was  that  he  became  an  example  to  Christians  of 
his  country  and  the  world,  of  the  power  and  efficacy  of 
fixed  and  settled  principle.  As  was  said  of  Evarts,  so  it 
may  be  said  of  Hall, — "  The  moral  principle  that  actuat- 
ed him  was  as  permanent  as  the  faculties  of  his  soul, — as 
permanent  as  that  indwelling  Spirit  of  God,  which  caused 


BRIEF    MEMOIR    OF    THE    BOMBAY    MISSION. 

The  island  of  Bombay  was  selected  as  the  seat  of  this 
mission,  not  only  because  it  contained  a  dense  population 
of  more  than  200^000  souls,  ignorant  of  the  gospel,  but 
chiefly  on  account  of  its  proximity  to  the  continent,  and 
the  great  facilities  it  affords  for  ready  communication  with 
almost  every  portion  of  the  Mahratta  country,  containing 
a  population  of  near  12,000,000,  speaking,  essentially, 
the  same  language. 

It  was  not  only  the  first  mission  of  the  American 
Board,  but  it  was  the  first  Protestant  mission  established 
in  modern  days,  on  the  western  coast  of  India.  For  near- 
ly two  years  after  the  arrival  of  the  first  missionaries, 
great  embarrassments  were  experienced  from  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  government ;  and  when,  by  a  kind  Providence, 
these  obstacles  were  removed,  and  the  missionaries  felt 
themselves  at  liberty  to  remain  and  commence  their  work, 
every  thing  was  to  be  done.  There  was  no  translation 
22 


254  MEMOIR   OF 

of  the  bible  suited  to  general  circulation — no  schools  for 
the  common  people,  and  no  printing  in  the  vernacular 
language  and  character  of  the  Mahrattas. 

And  when  after  the  laborious  process  of  acquiring  the 
language  of  the  people,  the  missionaries  had  translated 
some  portions  of  the  bible,  and  were  able,  though  in  a 
very  imperfect  manner,  to  communicate  Christian  instruc- 
tion, they  found  every  thing  in  the  religion  and  habits  of 
the  people  to  contend  with.  Hindooism  holds  her  vota- 
ries with  an  iron  grasp.  It  is  a  system  of  religion  vene- 
rated for  its  antiquity,  formed  with  great  art  and  show  of 
learning,  and  peculiarly  suited  to  cherish  the  leading  pas- 
sions of  the  depraved  heart.  Chained  to  the  rites  of  this 
religion,  as  are  the  Hindoos,  by  the  principle  of  caste,  and 
awed  by  the  most  tremendous  sanctions  of  apostasy  from 
the  faith  of  their  shasters — their  minds  perverted  by  false 
philosophy  and  their  hearts  by  licentiousness  and  sin,  what 
but  the  eye  of  Christian  faith  could  discern  the  least  pros- 
pect of  success,  in  preaching  to  them  the  gospel  ? 

In  such  a  state  of  things,  the  missionaries  were  well 
aware,  from  the  first,  that  many  years  of  patient  labor 
must  be  expended  in  order  to  prepare  the  way  for  visible 
success  in  their  mission.  The  minds  of  these  pagans 
were  not  only  ignorant  of  the  gospel  and  polluted  by  sin, 
but  they  were  dreadfully  perverted  and  enslaved  by  a 
specious  system  of  false  philosophy,  under  the  imposing 
sanction  of  religion, — a  system,  written,  in  their  opinion, 
by  the  finger  of  the  gods,  and  expounded  by  a  learned 
and  artful  priesthood.  Much  labor  and  patience  were 
therefore  necessary  to  remove  this  rubbish  and  prepare 


GORDON    HALL.  255 

the  minds  of  the  people  to  examine  and  understand  the 
rehgion  of  the  gospel. 

As  learning  was  generally  confined  to  the  Bramhuns 
or  priests,  the  common  people  had  no  means  of  reading 
and  examining  the  Christian  scriptures  for  themselves, 
even  if  they  were  put  into  their  hands.  The  missionaries 
therefore  early  saw  the  importance  of  establishing  schools. 
In  this  department  of  labor,  they  found  much  less  diffi- 
culty than  they  anticipated.  The  natives  are  now  not 
only  willing  to  s^nd  their  sons  to  be  instructed  in  the 
mission  schools,  but  their  prejudices  against  female  educa- 
tion are  rapidly  diminishing.  Between  three  and  four 
hundred  females  are  now  pupils  in  the  various  schools  un- 
der the  direction  of  that  mission. 

The  New  Testament  has  been  translated  and  two 
large  editions  of  it  printed  before  the  death  of  Mr.  Hall.  A 
large  portion  of  the  Old  Testament  has  been  translated  and 
some  of  the  most  important  parts  of  it  printed.  Large 
editions  of  various  school-books,  catechisms,  tracts,  he. 
have  issued  from  the  mission  press.  The  number  of 
pages  printed  at  that  press  during  the  last  year  amounted 
to  2,098,200  ; — the  whole  amount  of  Mahratta  printing 
from  the  commencement  of  the  mission  to  the  present 
time  cannot  fall  much  short  of  14,000,000  of  pages.  The 
demand  for  books  has  greatly  increased  ; — many  more 
might  be  distributed,  could  they  be  furnished,  with  a  fair 
prospect  of  their  being  faithfully  read. 

The  progress  made  by  this  mission  in  the  number  of 
conversions  from  paganism  is  not  so  encouraging  as  in 
most  of  the  other  missions  of  the  Board.  The  mission 
church  at  Bombay  consists  of  19  members  ;    and  the 


1256  MEMOIR    OF 

church  at  the  new  station  at  Ahinednugger,  on  the  ad- 
joining continent,  consist  of  23  members.  Two  of  the 
leading  native  members  of  this  church  were  formerly 
members  of  the  church  at  Bombay. 

The  success  of  this  mission  is  by  no  means  to  be 
measured  by  the  present  number  of  converts  from  pa- 
ganism made  by  its  instrumentality.  In  the  commence- 
ment of  a  mission  much  is  to  be  done  in  laying  its  foun- 
dation, and  in  providing  materials,  so  to  speak,  for  suc- 
cessful operation.  This  preparatory  work,  has  been  ex- 
tensively accomplished.  A  great  amount  of  religious  in- 
struction has  been  communicated  both  by  the  living 
preacher  and  the  extensive  distribution  of  the  Bible  and 
other  Christian  books.  Thousands  of  children  and  youth, 
who  but  for  this  mission  would  have  grown  up  and  died 
in  ignorance  and  idolatry,  are  now  able  to  read  the  w^ord 
of  God,  in  their  own  language,  and  have  received  such 
instruction  in  literature  and  morals  as  elevates  them  in  so- 
ciety and  gives  them  an  influence  vastly  greater  than 
they  could  have  acquired  by  any  other  means.  Though 
these  children  and  youth  do  not  as  yet  give  evidence  of 
being  savingly  converted  to  Christ,  yet  it  is  morally  im- 
possible that  they  can  be  sincere  behevers  in  the  absurd 
fables  and  unreasonable  doctrines  of  their  shasters.  It  is 
believed  that  few  comparatively,  who  have  been  thus  ed- 
ucated, can  rest  satisfied  with  the  religion  of  their  fathers. 

The  missionaries  at  this  station  have  made  numerous 
and  extensive  itinerating  tours,  for  preaching  the  gospel, 
establishing  and  visiting  schools  and  distributing  books. 
As  a  consequence  of  these  efforts  a  spirit  of  inquiry  has 
been  extensively  excited  among  the  natives,  which  can- 


GORDON    HALL.  257 

not  but  have  a  favorable  influence  in  leading  them  to  see 
the  folly  of  their  own  religion,  and  in  preparing  their 
minds  for  the  reception  of  the  gospel. 

It  is  believed,  that  this  mission,  considering  the  embar- 
rassments under  which  it  was  commenced,  and  the  state 
of  the  people  for  whose  benefit  it  was  established,  has  re- 
ceived great  encouragement.  Our  beloved  missionaries, 
at  that  post,  have  never  showed  signs  of  dismay.  They 
can  see  and  understand  the  circumstances  of  the  people 
and  the  progress  of  the  work.  And  who  can  be  better 
qualified  to  form  an  accurate  opinion  of  the  progress  of  the 
contest  and  the  prospect  of  victory  than  those  who  have 
been  for  years  on  the  field  of  combat  ?  They  can  see 
enough  that  is  encouraging  to  make  them  comparatively 
satisfied  in  spending  their  lives  and  wearing  out  their  en- 
ergies, that  a  foundation  may  be  laid  for  the  ultimate  tri- 
umph of  the  gospel  over  that  strong  citadel  of  paganism. 
While  they  doubt  not  that  God  is  able  to  give  immediate 
and  extensive  success  to  his  gospel  among  the  pagans  in 
India,  they  are  no  less  convinced  that  much  preparatory 
work  must  be  performed,  by  human  instrumentality. 

The  first  generation  of  missionaries  may  not  live  to 
see  the  Hindoo  pantheon  overthrown  and  the  banner  of 
the  cross  waving  over  its  ruins  ;  but  those  who  enter  into 
their  labors  will  behold  it.  It  will  eventually  be  seen  that 
these  pioneers  have  done  a  service  no  less  important  to 
the  conversion  of  India,  than  their  successors  who  will 
have  the  happiness  of  seeing  the  votaries  of  Hindooism 
flocking  to  Christ  as  doves  to  their  windows. 

Bombay,  in  connexion  with  the  extensive  and  popu- 
lous Mahratta  country,  is  a  most  interesting  field  for  mis- 


258  MEMOIR    OF 

sionary  labor ; — a  -field,  which  it  is  believed,  presents  as 
high  promise  of  extensive  and  ultimate  usefulness  as  is  to 
be  found  in  the  pagan  world.  Much  labor  has  been  ex- 
pended in  this  field,  and  much  has  been  done  in  prepar- 
ing the  way  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  object.  What 
though  Hall  and  Newell,  Nichols  and  Frost,  Hervey  and 
Garrett  have  laid  down  their  lives  in  this  field,  and  have 
gone  to  rest  ? — instead  of  discouraging,  this  should  only 
stimulate  a  host  of  others  to  press  forward  and  enter  into 
their  labors. 

The  climate  of  Bombay  is  not  generally  considered 
by  foreign  residents  as  peculiarly  unfavorable  to  health,  if 
suitable  care  be  exercised  in  guarding  against  exposure  to 
the  sun.  No  part  of  India  has  a  purer  atmosphere,  and 
is  more  resorted  to  by  invalids  from  the  other  presiden- 
cies. Three  of  the  departed  brethren  of  that  mission 
died  of  the  spasmodic  cholera,  that  disease  which  has  car- 
ried desolation  into  every  climate  under  heaven, — two,  of 
billions  fever,  and  one  of  consumption.  It  is  indeed  prob- 
able, that  the  death  of  these  missionaries,  (with  the  ex- 
ception of  Mr.  Frost,  who  died  of  the  consumption,  and 
whose  life  was  obviously  prolonged  by  going,  to  a  tropical 
climate,)  was  hastened  by  their  residence  in  the  country ; 
but  in  most  of  the  cases  the  fatal  disease  was  obviously 
induced  not  directly  by  the  climate,  but  by  the  fatigue 
and  exhaustion  of  intense  missionary  labor. 

But  if  it  were  true,  that  the  climate  is  particularly  un- 
favorable to  the  health  of  foreigners,  it  w^ould  furnish  no 
good  reason,  why  Christians  should  shrink  from  the  work. 
God  has  placed  by  far  the  greatest  portion  of  the  unevan- 
gelized  nations,  in  climates  less  salubrious  than  ours  ;  but 


GORDON    HALL.  259 

Still  he  commands  us  to  preach  to  them  his  gospel ;  and 
in  what  better  cause  can  we  wear  out  our  lives,  than  in 
obeying  this  command  ? 

It  is  worthy  of  special  notice,  in  relation  to  Bombay 
and  other  missionary  stations  in  India,  that  within  the  last 
few  years,  places  have  been  found  on  the  mountains  in 
the  interior,  which  promise   to  be  greatly  beneficial  to 
invalids,  as  convalescent  stations.     The  Neelg'herry  and 
Mahabuleshwur    hills,  and  other  places  on    the    same 
range  of  mountains,  afford  a  healthful  variety  in  the  tem- 
perature of  the   atmosphere,  and  will,  in  many  cases,  re- 
store the  strength  of  the  exhausted  missionary,  and  prevent 
the  necessity  of  a  voyage  by  sea,  if  seasonably  resorted  to. 
In  conclusion,  it  may  be  remarked,  that  though  India 
is  assailed  by  the  soldiers  of  the  cross  in  many  important 
places  along  her  extensive  sea-coast  and  in  her  deep  in- 
terior, a  vast  amount  of  missionary  labor,  faith  and  prayer 
is  still  required.     Though  Hindooism  already  shows  signs 
of  decay,  and  trembles  before  that  spirit  of  inquiry  and 
free  discussion,  which   has  been  waked  up  in  the  minds 
of  many  of  her  subjects,  let  no  one   imagine,   that  the 
time  has  come  to  raise   the  shout  of  victory.     What  if 
this  mighty  fabric  should  speedily  crumble  into  ruin,  will 
Christianity  succeed,  as  a  thing  of  course  ?    By  no  means. 
— It  depends,  under  God,  upon  the   churches,  in  this 
country,  and  in   Great  Britian,  to  say  what  shall  succeed. 
If  the  people  of  God  should  prove  faithful  to  their  trust, 
— if,  guided  by  the  command  of  Christ,  and  stimulated 
by  the  signs  of  the  times,  they  would  sieze  this  most  in- 
teresting opportunity,  and  send   forth  without  delay   the 
adequate  means  of  instruction,   Christianity  would  take 


260  MEMOIR    OF     GORDON    HALL. 

the  place  of  Hindooism  in  her  fall.  But  alas !  the  al- 
ternative is  painful  beyond  expression, — it  is  infidelity, 
or  a  cold-hearted  atheism !  These  will  bind  the  millions 
of  India  in  chains  of  iniquity  far  more  dreadful  than  pa- 
ganism ever  fabricated  for  her  votaries.  Never  was  there 
a  crisis  of  such  importance  to  India,  as  the  present. — 
Never  was  the  Macedonian  cry  louder,  than  now  comes 
to  the  ears  of  the  church,  from  the  crumbling  fanes  of 
Hindooism. 


CORRIGENDA. 

Page  45  line  23,  for  Pandicheny,  read  Pondicherry. 

"  51  "  23,  for  Monsey,  read  Money. 

"  56  "  15,  for  Cannamore,  read  Cannanore. 

"  60  "  16,  insert  for,  before  which. 

"  147  "  11,  for  holy  theism,  read  poly-theism. 

«  166  "  25,  omit  which,  before  while. 

"  173  "       6,  insert  the,  before  subject. 

"  188  "       4,  for  reasonable,  read  seasonable. 

«  "  "  11,  for  sixteenth,  read  sixtieth. 

"  192  "  15,  for  expended,  read  explained. 


Date  Due 

S£i9-v, 

iifcitiiiTitfeHllii 

1 

^^mmmmm 

,^^^^-^ 

iiiii^ 

JUN  3  0  i 

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PRINTED 

IN  U.  S.  A. 

